Pastor Jippy Doyle who was scheduled to be released from Dodds Prisons on the 29th January, 2011 has been further detained at the institution because of a legal technicality, presented by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The Director of Public Prosecutions argues that Doyle had filed an application for special leave to appeal his conviction before the Caribbean Court of Justice, and therefore being treated as a prisoner on remand, and not as one who was convicted of a crime.
A Nation newspaper article dated Friday August 1, 2008 certainly thought that he was convicted because it headline stated "Jippy Guilty", "Pastor Convicted of Raping Teen Girl."
If therefore Pastor Doyle was in fact guilty according to the court, and was convicted and sentenced to jail, why is the DPP now saying that he was not convicted, and was only on remand?
Does it therefore mean that once one is convicted and one appeals the decision your sentence is dropped until the outcome of the appeal?
On December 14, 2010 the Court of Appeal replaced the rape verdict returned by the jury on July 31, 2008, with one for indecent assault, and also substituted the ten-year sentence imposed on Doyle for that crime with a three-year sentence. The court stated that the sentence would start from October 31, 2008. This meant that Doyle was scheduled to be released from prison, yesterday.
The decision was handed down by Acting Chief Justice Sherman Moore and Justices of Appeal Peter Williams and Sandra Mason.
Having received a letter from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions there is now no set date of release, as Doyle is being treated as a prisoner on remand.
Lawyers for Pastor Doyle Sir Richard Cheltenham, QC, attorneys Marlon Gordon and Shelly-Ann Seecharan, said a file a writ of habeas corpus would be filed tomorrow in the High Court, on behalf of their client, challenging the DPP's decision.
The lawyers also contend that under the laws of Barbados no prosecutor had the power to determine when a sentence was due to begin or end.
