The jury in the trial of Ruth Lawrence can return alternative verdicts of assisting an offender if they find the prosecution has not argued, beyond a reasonable doubt, that she was part of a joint enterprise to murder two men over a decade ago.
On Wednesday, Mr Justice Tony Hunt delivered his charge to the 12-person jury. He said for Ms Lawrence to be guilty of murder on the basis of joint enterprise, the accused must have assisted in a concrete way in the killing of the deceased and there must have been a purpose to deliberately assisting in their deaths.
The trial has heard Ms Lawrence was extradited from South Africa to face trial in 2023, nearly a decade after
Continue Reading on The Irish Times
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.