48 of 328 matters disposed of at June Demerara Criminal Assizes

The June Demerara Criminal Assizes commenced on the seventh day of that month with a total of 328 cases listed to be heard. Of those cases, only 48 were completed – 29 of them were presented at the Demerara High Court while the other 19 were noll prosequi by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
This is according to a report from the DPP’s Chambers.
During the June Criminal Assizes, Justices Priya Sewnarine-Beharry, Jo-Ann Barlow, Simone Morris-Ramlall and Sandil Kissoon sat.
Of the 29 cases presented, 16 were for the offence of murder, 12 were for sexual offences, and one was for the offence of attempt to commit murder.
A total of 34 persons appeared in those 29 cases.
ln three of the cases, two accused were indicted together, while, in one other case, there were three accused indicted together.
There were 12 guilty pleas, nine convictions, six not guilty verdicts by jury, three formal verdicts of not guilty, one discharged matter, and a quashed indictment.
State Counsel Cecilia Corbin, State Counsel Caressa Henry, and State Counsel Paneeta Persaud presented 12 matters in the Sexual Offences Court before Justices Sewnarine-Beharry and Morris-Ramlall.
In six of those, the accused were all found guilty by jury verdicts; one of them was given two life sentences for rape and robbery-under-arms.
Another person, who was charged with two counts of sexual activity with a child family member, was sentenced to a total of 32 years in prison. One other, who was indicted on three counts of rape of a child under 16 years, was sentenced to a total of 45 years’ imprisonment. Their respective sentences are to run concurrently.
Another convict was jailed for 16 years, while two others are awaiting sentencing.
In the other five matters, two accused entered guilty pleas and were respectively sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment and three years and four months’ imprisonment. In another two matters, both accused were acquitted by jury verdicts of not guilty.
Two of the virtual complainants in the sexual offences matters testified in open court that they did not wish to testify against the accused, resulting in the trial Judge directing the jury to return formal verdicts of not guilty.
Meanwhile, Senior State Counsel Lisa Cave, State Counsel Latiffa Elliot, State Counsel Marissa Edwards and State Counsel Simran Gajraj completed seven matters — five for the offence of murder, and one each for the offence of attempt to commit murder and manslaughter.
These matters were heard by Justice Barlow.
In one of those cases, the accused pleaded guilty as charged and was sentenced to life imprisonment. In another matter with three accused indicted together, the jury returned a majority verdict in a proportion of 10 guilty to two not guilty for the numbers one and two accused. They were respectively sentenced to four years, five months, and four days in jail. The number three accused was acquitted by the jury.
In one other matter, the accused pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter and was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment after the court made deductions for time he had spent on remand and for his early guilty plea.
In the other three cases, the accused were all acquitted by jury verdicts of not guilty.
In the one matter for the offence of attempt to commit murder, the accused pleaded guilty, and is awaiting sentencing, which has been fixed for October 25.
In addition, State Counsel Muntaz Ali and State Counsel Taneisha Saygon presented 10 matters for the offence of murder before Justice Kissoon.
The accused in one of those matters was sentenced to death after the jury returned a unanimous verdict of guilty. In three other separate cases with a total of six accused, they all pleaded guilty. One of them pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment. The other five persons pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter. While one of them was sentenced to life imprisonment, three were each sentenced to 10 years in prison, and the other to 12 years and 10 months’ imprisonment.
In another two matters, both accused also pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. In another case, the trial Judge upheld a no-case submission and directed the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty.
And in two extraordinary cases, the trial Judge discharged one accused and stayed all criminal proceedings arising from the matter. In the other matter, Justice Kissoon changed the accused’s guilty plea to not guilty and quashed the indictment and committal.
One matter is ongoing.
In the 19 matters nolle prosequi by the DPP, 17 were for sexual offences, one for robbery-under-arms/receiving stolen property, and one for attempt to commit murder/ felonious wounding.
The virtual complainants in these matters submitted written statements that they did not wish to proceed with their matters. (G1)