The Privy Council have upheld the conviction of two men for the murder of James Cyrus Caines who was shot dead in a Pembroke house in July 1996.

Legal insiders saying the case upheld the principle that people could be found guilty of murder even if their intention was to commit another crime -- unlike places such as Trinidad and Tobago and the UK where "felony murder'' had been axed as an offence.

A legal source said: "This means if you commit a crime which ends up in a killing you can still be charged with murder unlike other places such as the UK where it can only be manslaughter.'' Teiko Furbert and Sheldon Franks were given life sentences in April 1997 for the slaying but the pair appealed on several grounds.

However the Privy Council threw out the defence's argument that the judge erred by not directing the jury to a verdict of manslaughter if they were satisfied the suspect did not intend to kill or cause grevious bodily harm or help someone kill.

The judgment delivered on March 23 said: "The Lordships do not accept that submission.'' It went on: "The judge stressed in a number of places that before the jury could convict the secondary party, who did not fire the gun, of murder they must be satisfied that he knew the plan was to use a gun.'' The appeal also argued that Puisne Judge Richard Ground had blundered by putting a Policeman's notes up as evidence.

The notes from Detective Constable Maxwell included a statement from Furbert which said that Franks would crack under pressure.

The notes also said Furbert had said: "I accept the blame, it's cool.'' The defence said the judge should have directed the jury that the notes were not corroborative of Det. Con. Maxwell's evidence and were merely an aide memoir.

They also said the judge's direction to the jury that the appellants' words were not an "out and out admission'' were inadequate.

The Privy Council rejected the defence's arguments and they also refuted the claim that the judge should have rejected evidence from the victim's mother that Furbert had denied the killing but had blamed him for stealing packages.

The Lordships said the evidence was important because it hinted at a motive.

They also rejected a claim that Furbert had no case to answer.

The judgment said: "There was evidence he was in the vicinity of the house shortly before, and shortly after, the shooting, that there were gunshot residues on the shirt which he'd been wearing on July 6, 1996 and that he made remarks to Detective Constable Maxwell which could be viewed as constituting admissions that he had been involved in the shooting.'' Mr. Cyrus Caines, was sitting with friends smoking crack at a Curving Avenue home when a gun was fired into the room from outside.

The bullet struck his left cheek, exited the right side of his neck and embedded in his right shoulder. He ran out into the garden where Franks struck him on the leg.

The victim ran away but died as a result of his wounds an hour after the 9 p.m. shooting.

During the trial Franks said the victim had broken into his house on two occasions.