229 cases listed in January Assizes in Demerara

…set to open Tuesday

The Demerara Criminal Assizes for January 2018 is schedule to be opened on Tuesday, January 9, and there are 229 cases listed to be heard over the next three months.
Justices Navindra Singh, James Bovell-Drakes and Madam Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall would be presiding over the cases.
The goal delivery for the October 2017 Criminal Assizes was done by Justice James Bovell-Drakes on Tuesday January 2, bringing to an end the last session of 2017. During the October Criminal Assizes, Justice James Bovell-Drakes, Justice Brassington Reynolds and Madam Justice Simone Morris- Ramlall sat.
The session commenced on October 3, 2017 with a total of 218 cases listed. Of these cases, 26 matters were disposed of, with 20 of them received attention in the High Court of Demerara and six others were nolle prosequi (not prosecuted) by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Of these 20 cases that were presented, two were for the offence of sexual activity with a child family member; three were for the offence of rape of a child under 16 years of age; 13 were for the offence of murder; and there was one each for the offence of inflicting grievous bodily harm and for attempting to commit murder.
There were five guilty verdicts by jury; one formal verdict of not guilty; eight guilty pleas; five not guilty verdicts by jury, and one hung jury.
Of the 20 cases presented in the High Court, eight of these were prosecuted by State Counsels Nerrisa Leander, Seeta Bishundial and Abigail Gibbs before Madam Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall. Of these eight cases, two were for the offence of sexual activity with a child family member; four were for the offence of murder, and two were for the offence of rape of a child under 16 years.In one of the two cases for the offence of sexual activity with a child family member, the accused, who was indicted on two counts, was sentenced to life imprisonment after the jury returned a unanimous verdict of guilty. In the other matter, the accused was indicted on three counts of the offence, and was found guilty on all three counts by the jury. He was sentenced to a total of 65 years’ imprisonment, and will have to serve 50 years before being eligible for parole.
In two of the four murder trials, the accused were acquitted after the respective juries returned unanimous verdicts of not guilty of murder nor of the lesser offence of manslaughter.
In the other two matters, both accused pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter, and were respectively sentenced to 45 years’ imprisonment and 40 years’ imprisonment. However, one of these two prisoners will serve 22 years’ imprisonment after the trial judge deducted a total of 18 years for the guilty plea and for time spent in custody before trial.
In the one matter for the offence of rape of a child under 16 years and sexual activity with a child family member, the accused, indicted on two counts, was acquitted by the jury which returned with majority verdicts of 11 to 1 not guilty of rape of a child under 16 years and 10 to 2 not guilty of sexual activity with a child family member.
In one other matter for two counts of rape of a child under 16 years, the accused was sentenced to life imprisonment on each count, with a possibility of parole after serving 35 years’ imprisonment.
Another seven of these 20 cases were completed by Justice Bovell-Drakes. The prosecutors were State Counsels Orinthia Schmidt and Mandell Moore. Of these cases, one was for the offence of rape of a child under 16 years, and the other six were for the offence of murder.
The complainant in the lone matter for the offence of rape of a child under 16 years testified that she did not wish to proceed with the matter, and as such, the trial judge directed the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty in favour of the accused.
In three of the other six murder cases, the accused all pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter, and were respectively sentenced to 23 years’ imprisonment, 20 years’ imprisonment, and 12 years’ imprisonment.
In another one of these cases, the accused, who was indicted for murder with an alternative count of inflicting grievous bodily harm, was by jury found guilty of the lesser offence of manslaughter. He further pleaded guilty to the alternative count, and was sentenced to 21 years’ imprisonment.
In another one of these cases, the accused was acquitted after the jury returned a not-guilty verdict. While the accused in one other murder case was unanimously found guilty by the jury. He will be sentenced on January 15, 2018 when a probation report ordered by the trial judge will be presented.
Justice Reynolds has completed five matters that were prosecuted by State Counsels Shawnette Austin, Lisa Cave and Tiffiny Lyken. Of these five matters, four were for the offence of murder, and the other was for the offence of attempt to commit murder and for discharging a loaded firearm with intent.
In three of these four murder cases, the accused all pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter. In one of these three cases, the accused was indicted on two counts of murder and was sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment on each count. His sentences are to run concurrently. The other two accused were respectively sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment and 12 years’ imprisonment.
Another lone accused was acquitted by the jury with a unanimous verdict of not guilty. The jury in the lone matter for the offence of attempt to commit murder and discharging a loaded firearm with intent failed to reach a verdict and returned hung. The accused was remanded to prison and ordered to await a new trial.
Furthermore, the six matters nolle prosequi by the DPP were for sexual offences. Two for the offence of sexual activity with a child family member, three for the offence of rape of a child under 16 years, and one for the offence of rape. In all of these matters, the complainants, by way of written statements, indicated that they did not wish to proceed with their cases.