David Swain, the Rhode Island man convicted in 2009 of murdering his wife Shelley Tyre during a 1999 wreck-diving excursion off Cooper Island, walked away a free man after more than four years in prison Thursday. Minutes before, the Court of Appeal ruled that jury instructions given during his trial made the verdict “unsafe.”
Mr. Swain has always maintained his wife died as the result of an accident.
“I feel elated,” he said after walking out of the Commercial Court building on Main Street with his daughter Jennifer Swain Bloom.
Ola Mae Edwards, speaking for a three-justice panel who heard Mr. Swain’s appeal Wednesday, accepted defence attorney Dr. J. S. Archibald QC’s argument that Justice Indra Hariprashad-Charles’ summation to the jury effectively withdrew the defence of accident, saying it had no place in the trial.
Ms. Hariprashad-Charles also failed to instruct the jury in how to deal with deposition evidence from a Rhode Island wrongful death trial in which Mr. Swain was found liable for Ms. Tyre’s death, Ms. Edwards said in reading from the court’s judgment.
“She gave the jury no assistance as to how to use and evaluate this evidence,” Ms. Edwards said.
The appellate justices declined to order a new trial, citing the amount of time Mr. Swain has spent in prison. They also cited Dr. Archibald’s arguments that it would be difficult to recall defence witnesses given the amount of time that has passed since Ms. Tyre’s death.
See the Oct. 6, 2011 edition for full coverage.