Dancehall artist Mavado has announced plans to pursue legal action against those he accuses of orchestrating a “cruel act of injustice” against his son, Dantay Brooks, and co-accused Andre Hinds.
This move follows the recent overturning of their 2018 murder convictions by the Court of Appeal, which ruled that the trial had been marred by significant legal errors, resulting in a miscarriage of justice.
Brooks and Hinds, who were convicted for the murder of Lorenzo “Israel” Thomas in Cassava Piece, St. Andrew, were freed this week after the Appeal Court panel — comprising Justices Marva McDonald-Bishop, David Fraser, and Kissock Laing — found that the trial judge had mishandled key aspects of the case. The judges highlighted the failure to adequately caution against the risks of unreliable identification evidence and flaws in assessing the credibility of the prosecution’s sole eyewitness.
Mavado, whose real name is David Brooks, broke his silence in an emotional Instagram post, expressing both relief and anger.
“To God be the glory — He comes first in everything we do. I am naturally elated, relieved and full of joy that my son Dantay has been freed from the state-imposed hell he has endured for seven years of his young life. But at the same time, there is a fire raging within me at the injustice — or as the appeal judges put it, substantial miscarriage of justice — that has taken place,” he stated. The artist criticized the judge’s decision to proceed without a jury and accused the prosecution of sensationalizing the case with false claims that were later disproven by forensic evidence.
The Appeal Court’s ruling pointed to critical errors, including the trial judge’s inadequate warnings about the risks of basing a conviction solely on identification evidence, especially given that the prosecution’s key witness had changed his statements multiple times and admitted to lying to police. The prosecution, acknowledging these errors, did not contest the appeal or seek a retrial, resulting in a full acquittal for Brooks and Hinds.
Mavado vowed to hold those responsible accountable, declaring, “ this story and those headlines are far from over, and we will see the names of those conspirators and workers of iniquity brought to bear, to face justice and accountability for their egregious actions and motivations.”
He expressed gratitude to attorneys Hugh Wildman and Oswest Senior-Smith for their roles in securing the acquittal, commending their “bravery against a system designed to destroy the lives of innocent youth.”
Brooks and Hinds were initially sentenced to life imprisonment in March 2021, with Brooks, who was 16 at the time of the 2018 incident, ordered to serve 22 years before being eligible for parole. Hinds, who was 23 at the time, was required to serve 17 years before parole. Both men had also received additional sentences for arson and illegal firearm possession, stemming from allegations that they, along with other armed men, forcibly entered Thomas’ home, shot and attempted to behead him before setting the house and body on fire.
The case, which relied heavily on the testimony of Thomas’ father as the sole eyewitness, has sparked widespread discussion in Jamaica about the justice system’s handling of young defendants and the use of single-witness identification in serious cases. Mavado’s pledge to seek justice signals that the legal battle may be far from over.
