Despite an impassioned plea from defence lawyer, Dr Randolph Williams, for bail to be granted to a woman who is suffering from spinal injury that took place while in prison, the application was denied.

Dr Williams said 38-year-old Janet Douglas could hardly walk because she injured her spine when she was dragged on the floor during an incident in prison. He said Douglas was having difficulty getting her medication. The Crown opposed bail on the grounds that Douglas had escaped from custody.

Supreme Court Judge Martin Gayle turned down the bail application and ordered that the prison authority should ensure that she gets all the medical attention she needed.

She is to return to the Home Circuit Court on February 22 when her retrial will begin.

Douglas is accused of murdering her lover's wife in November 2000.

Douglas was convicted in May 2005 in the Home Circuit Court for the murder of a policeman's wife, 32-year-old dressmaker Isloyn McGill, of Cornpiece district, near Hayes, Clarendon.