Two men accused of murder appeared for a court date via teleconference in the first use of a new video conferencing system for the courts.David Cox, 32, and Devon Hewey, 23, both stand accused of the premeditated murder of James Lawes, who was gunned down outside of Place’s Place in March, 2010.Court personnel, media and the mother of Mr Cox, along with Attorney General Kim Wilson all gathered in Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner’s office for the mention.Both defendants were seen on a screen standing next to each other, flanked by prison officers during the mention.Mr Hewey only spoke twice to confirm he could hear Mr Warner, while Mr Cox remained silent.Lawyer Larry Mussenden, representing Cox, requested a long-form preliminary inquiry, and the matter was set down for October 24.While court appearances have been made in the past by video link, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Justice explained that Thursday’s appearance was the debut of a new system.Speaking following the mention, Ms Wilson said that the technology can increase public safety, reduce issues related to staff shortages, and allow the safe participation of expert witnesses and vulnerable witnesses in court cases.“This method represents a huge cost savings for the public by drastically cutting down the time it takes to transport inmates,” she said.“Security is always an issue of public concern when transporting inmates, so this was also an important security and public safety step and you cannot put a price tag on safety.“The use of this technology is tremendous, its fast and effective and I must extend my appreciation to the Police, the Corrections Officers, our Prosecutors and of course Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner for facilitating such a smooth and effortless proceedings today.”