40 cases completed at Demerara January Criminal Assizes

The January session of the Demerara Criminal Assizes commenced on the 11th day of that month with a total of 367 cases listed to be heard. Of these cases, only 40 were completed. Justices Priya Sewnarine-Beharry, Simone Morris-Ramlall, and Brassington Reynolds sat during this session which ended in late March.
Of the 40 cases, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shalimar Ali-Hack, presented 30 in the High Court in Demerara while 10 matters were nolle prosequi in writing by her. Of these 30 matters presented, nine were for the offence of murder, 16 were for sexual offences, four for the offence of attempt to commit murder, and one for the offence of manslaughter.
There was a total of 33 accused in relation to these matters. There were seven convictions, nine guilty pleas, 11 formal verdicts of not guilty, three not guilty verdicts by jury, and two hung juries.
Of these 30 cases presented in the High Court, State Counsel Mohamed Muntaz Ali, State Counsel Nafeeza Baig, and State Counsel Latiffia Elliot completed 16 cases in the Sexual Offences Court before Justice Sewnarine-Beharry.
In three of these cases, the accused were found guilty by jury verdicts. One of them was sentenced to a total of 75 years’ imprisonment for three counts of sexual activity with a child family member. The other two accused are awaiting sentencing.
In one other case, the accused pleaded guilty to the offence of rape of a child under 16 years and he too is awaiting sentence. Another three accused were acquitted by jury verdicts of not guilty. Two others were further remanded after their respective juries failed to reach a verdict. In seven of these cases, the complainants declined to offer any further evidence, and as such, the trial Judge directed the juries to return formal verdicts of not guilty.
Meanwhile, Senior State Counsel Lisa Cave together with State Counsel Caressa Henry and State Counsel Cecelia Corbin prosecuted 10 matters before Justice Morris-Ramlall. Of these 10 matters, seven were for the offence of murder and three for attempt to commit murder. In one of these murder matters, the trial Judge upheld a no-case submission and directed the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty. In another one, the accused was indicted on two counts, namely, murder and wounding with intent.
This accused pleaded guilty as charged and was sentenced to life imprisonment for the offence of murder and 12 years on the second count. His sentences are to run concurrently and he becomes eligible for parole after serving 20 years.
In one other matter which had two accused who were indicted together, the number one accused was found guilty by the jury for the lesser offence of manslaughter and sentenced to 17 years’ imprisonment. In relation to his co-accused, the trial Judge upheld a no-case submission and directed the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty.
In the other four matters, all the accused persons pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter. While three of them were respectively sentenced to 12 years, two years and four months, and nine years’ imprisonment, the other one is awaiting sentence.
Of the three matters for the offence of attempt to commit murder, two of these accused pleaded guilty; one was sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment, and the other is awaiting his sentence. The one other accused was found guilty by a jury verdict and is also awaiting sentencing.
Senior State Counsel Seeta Bishundial together with State Counsel Taneish Saygon and State Counsel Simran Gajraj completed four cases before Justice Reynolds. Of these four matters, three were for the offence of murder and one for the offence of attempt to commit murder.
In two of the murder trials, the trial Judge upheld no-case submissions and directed the juries to return formal verdicts of not guilty. In the one other case in which two accused were indicted together, the jury found both accused unanimously guilty. They, too, are awaiting sentencing.
The accused of the offence of attempt to commit murder pleaded guilty and is also awaiting sentence. Ten matters for sexual offences were nolle prosequi by the DPP because the complainants submitted written statements that they did not wish to proceed with their matters.
The Demerara April 2022 Criminal Assizes will commence today with 354 cases listed to be heard. Justice Sandil Kissoon together with Justice Jo-Ann Barlow and Justice Priya Sewnarine-Beharry are rostered to sit during this session.