The Jamaican Court of Appeal has rejected former police constable Oshane Thompson’s application for conditional leave to appeal to the Privy Council in London, effectively blocking his attempt to challenge the court’s previous order for a retrial in a 2017 murder case.
Thompson’s legal journey began with his November 2021 conviction for the shooting death of Kriston Pearson at a Port Maria, St Mary party in May 2017. Originally sentenced to life imprisonment with parole eligibility after 20 years and eight months by then-Supreme Court Justice Carolyn Tie-Powell, Thompson successfully appealed both his conviction and sentence. On July 31, 2025, the Appeal Court overturned the verdict and ordered a new trial.
In his motion to the Appeal Court, Thompson, represented by attorneys Jacqueline Samuels Brown, KC, and John Clarke, argued that the appellate court had erred in ordering a retrial without adequately considering evidentiary deficiencies from the original proceedings. The defense contended that the eight-year delay since the incident and associated fairness concerns should have precluded a new trial, asserting that the decision violated Thompson’s constitutional right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time.
The three-judge panel comprising Justice Frank Williams, Justice Nicole Foster-Pusey, and Justice Georgiana Fraser delivered a comprehensive rejection of Thompson’s application. The court determined that Thompson failed to establish proper grounds for appeal to the Privy Council, noting that the case involved neither novel legal issues nor unresolved constitutional questions.
In their analysis, the justices emphasized that the Privy Council should not function as a secondary criminal appellate court, particularly when established legal principles have been properly applied. The court found that Thompson’s complaints essentially challenged the Appeal Court’s discretionary judgment rather than raising genuine constitutional interpretation issues.
The case stems from an altercation at a social gathering where Thompson, then a police constable, allegedly touched Pearson’s partner on her arm or bottom, triggering a physical confrontation. Prosecution witnesses testified that Thompson shot an unarmed Pearson during this altercation. Thompson’s defense maintained he acted in self-defense, claiming Pearson attacked him with a broken drink bottle after initially striking him in the face.