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Lawyers for Earl Richards, one of ten men accused of murdering former special prosecutor Dana Seetahal, have challenged the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) over what they call an “unconstitutional” delay in filing an indictment.

In a 13-page letter, attorneys Criston J. Williams and Aaron Lewis rejected DPP Roger Gaspard’s explanation that the case’s complexity, evidence backlog, and resource shortages justified the wait. Richards was committed to stand trial in July 2020, five years after his arrest.

The defence claims the delay breaches constitutional rights and hints at prosecutorial bias. Seetahal was gunned down in Port of Spain on May 4, 2014. Nine others are also charged.