The Tribune

By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A FORMER death row inmate sentenced to 50 years for murdering a man in 2001 on Johnson Alley had his second sentence appeal attempt dismissed.

Mark Capron was found guilty of the shooting death of Andrew “Half-a-Man” Simms on Johnson Alley on March 6, 2001.

During his trial, it was revealed that the convict shot Simms in the face and chest with a shotgun after the two got involved in a fight.

While Capron was initially sentenced to death in 2002, the Privy Council ordered a retrial.

Following a six-day retrial, Capron was again found guilty of murder and sentenced to 50 years in prison in January 2010.

Capron’s first appeal to quash the 50-year sentence failed in March 2013 after the Court of Appeal could not see merits in his arguments.

In his second appeal attempt, Court of Appeal Justice Sir Michael Barnett refused Capron’s application to reopen his appeal. Sir Michael found that the basis of his appeal –– that his lawyer overlooked something during the trial –– was too insubstantial to proceed with an appeal.

“The appeal having been heard and decided 10 years ago, the applicant represented by competent counsel at the time, he cannot now come back and ask the court to reopen it on the basis that his lawyers overlooked something. There has to be what we call finality in litigation, and the matter must be considered as closed,” Sir Michael said.

“Unless the applicant can identify some exceptional circumstances, which he has not done – his only circumstance is his lawyer overlooked something – there is no basis for us to reopen the appeal.”