ABSTRACT
The plea must be unambiguous. If a defendant says he is ‘guilty with an explanation’ this indicates that the plea is qualified. If, on listening to the explanation, the court forms the opinion that the defendant may have a valid defence, the court should record a not guilty plea and set the matter for trial. In Lewis v Comr of Police (1969) 13 WIR 186, a case from Grenada, a defendant was charged with assaulting a police officer. He pleaded guilty. The normal procedure was then followed in that the prosecutor stated the facts and the defendant then gave his explanation. It was held on appeal that the defendant’s explanation amounted to a plea of not guilty and the court acted wrongly in choosing to believe the ‘facts’ alleged by the prosecution and proceeding to conviction. A plea of not guilty should have been entered.
