British kitchen fitter 38, to finally stand trial over drowning death 17 yrs ago

[Myrtle Hogan-Lance]

I never heard of this case, but courtesy of the DM here's the story of a guy who will stand trial 17 years after an alleged murder occurred on a party boat in Tenerife. 

[Guanche]

Oh! never heard of this either Myrtle. Now, If I remember I will go to Santa Cruz on Monday. Someone is going to have to remind me!! Are the courts public?

[Myrtle Hogan-Lance]

Here is today's DM article on the court proceedings.  This is a very weird case, and something stinks.  Not sure what. 

[NAH]

Trial taken 17 years to reach court.....

...over the holiday drowning of an Irishman 16 years ago.

Agree the DM's story makes the incident sound rather strange. But I am a little confused, how can it have taken 17 years to reach court if he only drowned 16 years ago ? 

[Myrtle Hogan-Lance]

Agree the DM's story makes the incident sound rather strange. But I am a little confused, how can it have taken 17 years to reach court if he only drowned 16 years ago ? 

Well of course it does not pay to read too closely. Consider the source!

[Guanche]

Delays in court proceedings like this one are not strange in Spain. They happen all the time. Not only in the trial, but the delay in the sentence and it's implementation. There was a case last year of a man being sent to prison for two years for an offence he committed when he was a youth almost twenty years ago! There were protests about it. I don't know what happened in the end.

[Perikles]

He should be charged for fitting British kitchens - they are usually dreadful.

[Briz]

He should be charged for fitting British kitchens - they are usually dreadful.

If you are prepared to dig deep into the pockets and purchase quality English/British kitchens then you will get excellent units. 

[Janet]

Well, the jury has retired to consider its verdict this morning. From everything I've read in the local press about this case, it seems that everything hinges on the evidence of two "witnesses", a couple of sisters whose evidence is highly suspect, and which has been changed more than once. The defence is saying that one of them, the elder, is more than implicated in the guy falling (or being thrown) off the ferry herself.

It was in November 1996 it happened, so really 16 years ago, but 17 if you count simple year to year. 16 years waiting for a trial ... farcical, and horrendous. I hope he's acquitted. At the very least the evidence is highly suspect, possibly motivated by desire for revenge or to avoid self implication, and it seems clear that the drowned Irishman was anyway very drunk. And after 16 years, even if guilty, frankly it's the justice system that wants jailing, not someone who's effectively been "on remand" for all that time.

[Myrtle Hogan-Lance]

Let us hope this jury is more intelligent than the Vicky Pryce jury.