A 12-member jury trying a murder case for the last four weeks has voiced disgust that the health of some of the jurors is being seriously affected because of dirty air-conditioning vents in a courtroom at the Home Circuit Court.

The jurors have also complained that the seats in the courtroom are uncomfortable.

The foreman of the jury outlined the discomforts after the court was informed yesterday that one of the jurors trying the case of the two men charged with the murder of Manchester couple Richard and Julia Lyn was ill.

Senior Puisne Judge Marva McIntosh was informed by the foreman that the air-conditioning vents in the courtroom were clogged with dust and were affecting the sinuses of some of the jurors. The jurors said the seats were not comfortable.

Jurors should be comfortable

The judge said she was going to notify the relevant persons of their concerns so that something could be done expeditiously to rectify the situations. The judge said the courtroom in which they were sitting had the longest trials and agreed that the jurors should be more comfortable.

Jurors had complained before that they had no space in the jury box to even stretch their legs because the space between the chairs and the wooden rail was too narrow.

Yesterday, cobwebs could be seen clinging to the windows in the courtroom and the air-conditioning vents were black with dirt.

The trial did not proceed yesterday because of the juror's illness. The accused men were remanded until Monday when the trial will continue.

Lennox Swaby, 28, of Hopeton district, Manchester, and Calvin Powell, 26, of New Green, Manchester, have been on trial since October 5 for the double murder.

The Crown is alleging that the Lyns were strangled between December 9 and 10, 2006, during a robbery at their home at 14 Battersea Avenue, Ingleside, Manchester.

barbara.gayle@gleanerjm.com