Lawyer lashes out at critics in Merryweather case
William Booth, the lawyer for seven of the eight young men charged with the attempted murder of restaurant manager Andrew Merryweather in an attack that left him partially paralysed, has lashed out at critics who claim his clients receive special favours because they are wealthy.
He was reacting to criticism by Lawyers for Human Rights national director Rudolph Jansen about the men not being arrested before appearing in court and that three of the accused were excused from court last week because they had started university studies. The Cape Argus quotes Booth as saying his clients were neither rich nor famous. ‘Arrangements may be made with the prosecutor to excuse any accused from court. This has nothing to do with an accused\'s financial position or where they went to school.’ Booth said the magistrate who dealt with the matter felt that the correct procedure was followed and no special favours were made by police or prosecuting authorities. Booth also said that he would argue in court that only two of the eight were involved in the fracas and that they had acted in self-defence. Full Cape Argus report