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BERMUDA | RSS PODCAST

Put maternal instincts aside, jurors are urged

A prosecutor urged an all-female jury not to let their maternal instincts sway their judgment when deciding the case of six young men accused of a mob attack.

The men are said by prosecutors to have wounded Temasgan Furbert with intent to do him grievous bodily harm on the night of February 27, 2009.

The 23-year-old victim has described how he was set upon near his family home in Hamilton Parish by a large group of men wielding weapons.

According to prosecutor Robert Welling, a large group of young men from St. George's perpetrated the attack in revenge for a fight involving Mr. Furbert and a friend of theirs the night before.

Those charged with the attack are Allan Douglas, 22, Kiwaun Gilbert, 23, Bennett Phipps, 26, Detroy Smith, 24, Kyle Williams Tannock, 28 and Kiawan Trott, 25. They are all from St. George's or have links to the area.

Mr. Furbert has identified each of the six defendants to the jury as having been involved in the incident, which left him with four missing teeth, a badly damaged lip, and machete cuts to his body. He also suffered injuries behind his ear and on his side which he said were inflicted with an electric drill.

Fingerprints belonging to Williams Tannock, Phipps and Gilbert were found on three helmet visors at the scene.

According to the prosecution case, bike helmets numbered among the weapons used by the mob, with Mr. Furbert also describing how he was kicked and hit with a cane, baseball bat and machete.

However, each of the six claims it is a case of mistaken identity, and they were never at the scene.

They have called various friends and relatives during the case to back their various alibis — including some of their mothers. However, Mr. Welling described those alibis as "fabricated" during his closing speech to the ladies of the jury yesterday.

"There's not a single alibi there that involves supporting evidence from an independent witness," he said. "Three of them rely upon their mothers. Nobody's mother likes to think that their sons are bad boys. Every mother has the instinctive reaction to protect."

He urged the ladies to put concern and sympathy aside, both when it comes to the victim and to those accused of the attack.

"We've seen some nice-looking young men come in and out of the witness box. Some of you will be mothers, some of you will have relatives of a young age. Some of you will have sympathy for good-looking young men. These are traps into which you may fall," said Mr. Welling, urging them not to do so.

He concluded his remarks by telling them: "You must do justice to this case by considering the evidence carefully. Don't rush to judgment, consider each defendant separately. I invite you, having done so, to do justice to Temasgan Furbert and to do justice to Bermuda and to convict these defendants on this indictment."

However lawyer Llewellyn Peniston, told the jury they should have faith in his client Bennett Phipps' alibi.

Phipps is accused of being the person who wielded the electric drill against Mr. Furbert. However, he claims he was at home in bed, sick with the flu at the time.

Mr. Peniston argued that not only does Phipps' mother's evidence back his alibi — so do Police custody notes that state he was sick when he was arrested, plus his time sheet from work at the Corporation of St. George which shows he was off sick on the date in question.

The defence closing speeches continue today, and a verdict is expected in the case early next week.