A man who spent almost 10 years in prison waiting for his appeal to be heard is now querying what steps he can take to get compensation from the Government.

Dalton Reynolds' appeal was delayed because all the notes of evidence at his trial could not be found.

The Court of Appeal ruled that under Section 20(1) of the Constitution his right to a fair trial within a reasonable time was breached. Reynolds was charged with murder but the court said that the case against him was a strong one and so he lost his appeal.

In dismissing his appeal, the court ordered that he should serve his sentence of 18 years' imprisonment. Although his appeal was heard in February this year, the court ordered that his sentence should run from the time of his conviction.

Constitutional breach

Reynolds wrote last month asking what steps he could take concerning the constitutional breach.

If Reynolds had won his appeal then he could sue the Government to get compensation for the time he languished in prison awaiting his appeal.

Section 20(1) of the Constitution states that "whenever any person is charged with a criminal offence he shall, unless the charge is withdrawn, be afforded a fair hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial court established by law".