A lawyer involved in the Kellon Hill murder case has called for young witnesses to be able to give evidence via video link in future to spare them the ordeal of taking the stand at Supreme Court.

Reflecting on the case prior to the jury failing to reach a verdict on July 24, Mark Pettingill said it's time the law is changed to allow video testimony. Government said in the 2008 Throne Speech that it intended to introduce this change, but this has not yet come to fruition.

Mr. Pettingill, a defence lawyer who sits on the criminal law reform committee and represented Zharrin Simmons in the case said: "In any other jurisdiction right now what happens is young people, particularly under the age of 16 and many of the key witnesses in this case were under the age of 16 should be interviewed by way of video conference and their evidence given in that manner.

"Invariably what happens, and I believe happened in this case, is young people are apt to bow to pressure from their peers. They don't want to be seen to be telling tales it's uncool. They may have some fear of reprisals. They're embarrassed, they're afraid, they're not used to speaking in a public forum or in front of adults. There's all sorts of reasons psychologically where video can be the best way in which to proceed.

"In this case there were 13 barristers walking around in 17th century period dress asking questions and it's a shocking thing for a young person to deal with."

Since the jury was unable to reach a verdict in the case, murder-accused Kellan Lewis may now face a retrial, although the Director of Public Prosecutions has yet to announce a decision. Ms Simmons was one of four defendants who were cleared on the direction of the judge at the close of the prosecution case, on the basis that there was not enough evidence against them for them to have a case to answer.

Attorney General Kim Wilson said in response to Mr. Pettingill's comments: "The introduction of video link evidence is a priority for the Ministry of Justice. We are currently at the final stages of selecting a vendor to supply, install and operate the video link equipment. In addition, there will be the requisite off-site location for the use of testimony via video link from a remote location."