| Krishna Maharaj | |
|---|---|
mug shot of Maharaj |
|
| Born | 26 January 1939 Trinidad and Tobago |
| Conviction(s) | First degree murder, kidnapping[1] |
| Penalty | Life imprisonment |
| Status | Incarcerated at South Florida Reception Center |
| Occupation | businessman |
Krishna Maharaj (born January 26, 1939)[1] is a Trinidad and Tobago-born British businessman and brother of Ramesh Maharaj, former Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago. In 1987 he was convicted by a Florida court for the double murders of Derrick Moo Young and his son, Duane Young, and was sentenced to death. The alleged motives for the murders was that the elder victim Derrick Moo Young had fraudulently taken money from Krishna Maharaj's relatives in Trinidad and that Maharaj wanted to confront Moo Young to demand that he repay the money. His sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 2002. Maharaj has denied committing the murders for which he was convicted.
Maharaj arranged a false meeting with Derrick Moo Young in the DuPont Plaza Hotel. Derrick Moo Young turned up at room 1215 together with his son Duane. Once inside the room, Maharaj is said to have appeared with a gun from behind a door. An argument resulted, and the father, Derrick Moo Young, was shot to death by Maharaj. The prosecution stated that the son, Duane, was taken upstairs in the suite and shot by Maharaj.
Whilst the trial was flawed, there was compelling evidence against Maharaj including a testament from Neville Butler, an associate of Maharaj's.
In 2001, 300 British politicians, from various parties, wrote a letter to the Gov. Jeb Bush, asking for a retrial, saying there were 'astonishing flaws' in the case against him and his original trial. He has claimed to have seven witnesses that place him 25 miles away from the crime scene at the time of the murders.
Some of the more notable signatories include:
Several government law officers (past and present) are included, as are right-wingers and left-wingers.