The London-based Privy Council, Jamaica's highest Court,...

The London-based Privy Council, Jamaica's highest Court, overturned the conviction of Michael Pringle for the rape and murder of Kevan Davidson in 1996. The Privy Council had expressed concern over the DNA testing and the direction given to the jury by the trial judge. Pringle had been convicted in 1998 for the murder of Davidson who was raped and had her throat slit. Pringle was sentenced to hang and the Court of Appeal in 2001 upheld the verdict of the Circuit Court, while granting his lawyers leave to file an appeal before the Privy Council. The Privy Council contended that the jury in the Circuit Court had been misled about the DNA results even though the British law lords accepted that the DNA test showed that Pringle could have been the person who raped and murdered Davidson. The Privy Council noted that the trial judge did not tell the jury that it was also possible that another person with a similar DNA could have committed the crime.