Court of Appeal Overturns Tesha Miller Conviction in Douglas Chambers Murder Case

The Court of Appeal has acquitted alleged Klansman gang leader Tesha Miller of charges related to the 2008 murder of former Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) chairman Douglas Chambers.

The ruling, delivered on Friday morning, overturns Miller’s earlier conviction for being an accessory before and after the fact. He had been found guilty in 2019 and subsequently sentenced in 2020 to 38 years and nine months in prison.

During the initial trial, the prosecution relied heavily on testimony from a self-confessed Klansman gang member. The witness claimed Miller led the gang and instructed Andre “Blackman” Bryan to carry out the killing. He also told the court that the murder had been arranged by an unidentified “big man” and that he was present when the alleged directive was issued.

The witness further admitted to participating in the incident, stating that he was part of a group assigned to create a diversion while Bryan executed the attack.

Bryan, who was charged in connection with Chambers’ death, was later acquitted of murder.

In his appeal filed in 2023, Miller challenged the fairness of his trial. The Court of Appeal upheld this argument, concluding that the proceedings did not meet the required standard for a fair trial.

As part of its decision, the court ordered that Miller be retried within six months following the conclusion of another ongoing case involving him. The judges indicated that if the prosecution fails to proceed within that timeframe, the charges should be dismissed, unless the delay is caused by the defence.

Miller is currently before the court in a separate matter, where he is accused of leading a faction of the Klansman gang.

Meanwhile, Bryan—who avoided conviction in the Chambers case—was later found guilty of leading another faction of the Spanish Town-based criminal organisation.