Krishna Maharaj
| Krishna Maharaj | |
|---|---|
Prison mug shot of Maharaj
|
|
| Born |
26 January 1939 San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment |
| Criminal status | Incarcerated at South Florida Reception Center |
| Spouse(s) | Marita Maharaj |
| Parent(s) | Nanan Maharaj and Dolly Nanan Maharaj |
| Relatives | Ramesh Maharaj (brother) |
| Conviction(s) | First degree murder, kidnapping |
Krishna Maharaj (born 26 January 1939) is a Trinidadian businessman. In 1987 he was convicted by a Florida court for the double murders of Chinese Jamaican businessmen Derrick Moo Young and Duane Moo Young, and was sentenced to death. Maharaj has always denied committing the murders, and according to the human rights organisation Reprieve, the case of Krishna Maharaj is "an epic miscarriage of justice".
Maharaj is the brother of Ramesh Maharaj, former Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago. He is also the brother of Indra Rambachan (née Maharaj) who is the wife of National Award winner lawyer Roopnarine Rambachan.
According to the prosecution, Maharaj arranged a false meeting with Derrick Moo Young in the DuPont Plaza Hotel, in order to demand that Moo Young repay money that he had fraudulently taken from Maharaj's relatives in Trinidad. 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, then was taken upstairs in the suite and shot by Maharaj.
In 1997, a Florida court overturned the death sentence. In 2001, almost 300 British politicians, church leaders and judges wrote a letter to the then Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, asking for a retrial. The letter stated that there were 'astonishing flaws' in the case against Maharaj. Among those signing the letter were Lord Goldsmith, then Attorney General for England and Wales and Northern Ireland, Lynda Clark, then Advocate General for Scotland, Charles Kennedy, then Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Ken Livingstone, then Mayor of London, and Nicholas Lyell, former Attorney General for England and Wales and Northern Ireland.
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