Prisoners seek ‘urgent’ answers on DNA from DPP
Fourteen serious crime convicts put their names to a joint letter sent to the island’s top prosecutor asking “urgently” for information about the involvement of a since-discredited DNA expert in their cases.
The men, 11 of whom were found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in jail, each signed the letter by hand.
It was sent to Cindy Clarke, the Director of Public Prosecutions, on January 4, from Bermuda’s maximum security prison, Westgate Correctional, and she has since replied to each of them.
The prisoners wrote that Candy Zuleger, of Trinity DNA Solutions, was “used as a prosecution witness in each of our cases” and that all were convicted “as a result” and jailed.
However, Ms Clarke recently told one of the men, Jay Dill, in a letter seen by The Royal Gazette, that “having considered the nature of the evidence as a whole” in his case, she was satisfied his conviction for murder was safe [see sidebar].
Forensic scientist Ms Zuleger worked on about 450 cases for the Bermuda Police Service between 2006 and 2016, appearing repeatedly as a prosecution witness before the Supreme Court in criminal cases.
Problems with her techniques for analysing DNA evidence from crime scenes emerged in 2024 when a man jailed for life for murder and attempted murder, Julian Washington, had his convictions quashed by the Privy Council in London because of inaccurate evidence she gave at his trial.
Two more potential “miscarriages of justice” were identified after a review by the Department of Public Prosecutions of all the cases in which Ms Zuleger was involved.
That review involved looking at all of the evidence in the prosecutions which resulted in convictions, with referral to an independent forensic expert only for those cases where it was concluded a jury or magistrate might not have convicted without the DNA evidence.
The inmates, in their letter, asked for the reasons they were not contacted about the review, pointing to an undertaking they claimed Ms Clarke gave to the Privy Council to inform those affected.
They wrote that they were “urgently requesting” the names of everyone involved in the review, the full methodology used, the independent forensic reports relied upon and the raw data used by Ms Zuleger/Trinity in their cases.
The letter concluded: “ … We hope that you will treat our request with the appropriate sense of urgency.”
It is likely that, as with Mr Dill’s matter, the other 13 cases were not sent to the independent forensic expert, since none of the prisoners was believed to have been notified that they were affected by the DPP’s review.
Ms Clarke said in a statement on Tuesday that she had replied to each of the men who signed the joint letter, all of whom were “originally provided with the DNA evidence in their respective cases during the course of their trials”.
She said two of the prisoners previously corresponded with her and had already received “detailed, case-specific explanations addressing the nature of the DNA evidence relied upon at trial and the reasons why their convictions were considered safe”, as well as a further copy of the DNA evidence for their matters.
She undertook to provide an additional copy to the others of the DNA evidence in their cases in the “interests of transparency and fairness”.
Ms Clarke said: “The existence, scope, methodology and outcome of the review were previously made public through press statements issued by this department.
“The methodology employed was disclosed and the review was conducted independently, carefully and in accordance with my prosecutorial discretion as Director of Public Prosecutions, as recognised by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in Julian Washington v The King.
“As has previously been explained in open court, the department commissioned an independent forensic review to assist me in determining whether any issues identified in relation to DNA evidence might have implications for past convictions.”
Ms Clarke added: “The Privy Council made clear that decisions as to whether a review should be undertaken, the scope of any such review and the manner in which it is conducted are matters falling within my discretion as the DPP.
“I have exercised that discretion independently and in good faith, having regard to the complexity of the issues involved, the volume of material under consideration and the need to ensure fairness, accuracy and procedural propriety.”
Ms Clarke said her department recognised the “seriousness of the matters raised and the importance of maintaining public confidence in the administration of justice”.
She added: “Where we conclude that further action, disclosure or communication is necessary in any individual case, this will be undertaken through appropriate legal channels.
“ … I and this department will continue to take all appropriate steps to ensure the integrity of convictions and the proper administration of justice in Bermuda.”
The signatories to the letter were:
• Darrion Simons, Kyle Sousa, Jahkeo LeShore, Rickai Dickinson, Ramano Mills, Norris Simpson, Jeremiah Dill, Jay Dill, Antonio Myers, LeVec Roberts and Jaquii DeSilva-Pearman, all convicted of murder;
• Jahmico Trott and Quincy Brangman, convicted of attempted murder; and
• Curtis Swan, convicted of conspiracy to import cocaine and money laundering.
Cindy Clarke, the Director of Public Prosecutions, told Jay Dill in a January 20 letter that she was satisfied his conviction for murder was safe after considering the “nature of the evidence as a whole” in his case.
Mr Dill was found guilty in 2013, aged 23, of the premeditated gun murder of footballer Randy Robinson. In 2016, the Court of Appeal found the conviction was safe.
Mr Dill, who plans to try to get his conviction overturned at the Privy Council, was one of the signatories to a joint letter sent by serious crime convicts to Ms Clarke this month about the involvement of since-discredited Trinity DNA Solutions in their cases.
The Royal Gazette has seen a letter Ms Clarke sent him on Tuesday, in which she wrote: “I do not accept that there was any obligation to notify you personally of the review. The existence of the review was a matter of public record.”
The DPP refused to provide Mr Dill with the names of everyone involved in her review of hundreds of cases involving evidence from Trinity and its founder Candy Zuleger, insisting there was no obligation of disclosure without a clear reason for doing so.
Ms Clarke told Mr Dill she had made her methodology public already.
She said his case was not referred to independent DNA expert Barbara Llewellyn during the review “because, having considered the nature of the evidence as a whole, I concluded that your conviction was safe, irrespective of the DNA evidence provided by Ms Zuleger”.
Ms Clarke wrote that independent forensic reports prepared in connection with other criminal cases to which he was not a party would not be disclosed to him.
Eron Hill, of Bermuda Equal Justice Initiative, which is assisting Mr Dill, said: “Judicial review proceedings are being filed by Jay Dill next week challenging the DPP’s review as being wholly unreasonable, irrational and unlawful.”
They were assisted by the Bermuda Equal Justice Initiative, which has repeatedly criticised the DPP’s review as inadequate and called for a commission of inquiry into all cases involving Ms Zuleger.
Its founder Eron Hill, a paralegal, said it was likely the signatories to the letter, along with at least two other murder convicts, would launch joint civil litigation.
“Those 14 individuals are among the inmates whom BEJI will be assisting in forthcoming judicial review proceedings,” he said.
“We are funding counsel to bring the action, which will seek … enforcement of a declaration requiring the DPP at the very least to do what she represented she would do ― namely, notify the affected individuals, confirm whether their cases were in fact reviewed and then proceed from there.”
The Royal Gazettereported last month that prosecutors in Florida had issued letters to defence lawyers involved in cases in which Ms Zuleger gave evidence.
Trinity DNA Solutions voluntarily withdrew its accreditation in the United States as a forensic analysis laboratory in 2018 and the firm was dissolved in September 2022.
Ms Zuleger set up a new limited liability corporation in Florida, Trinity DNA, in February 2023.
• To see the letter to Ms Clarke in full and her January 20, 2026 statement, see Related Media
• It is The Royal Gazette’s policy not to allow comments on stories regarding court cases. As we are legally liable for any libellous or defamatory comments made on our website, this move is for our protection as well as that of our readers
