Bartica massacre: Court dismisses appeals for 2 dead killers, upholds life imprisonment for others 

The Guyana Court of Appeal on Wednesday dismissed the appeals of two deceased men convicted in connection with the 2008 Bartica Massacre while resentencing the two surviving appellants to life imprisonment. The unanimous ruling was delivered by Justice Jo-Ann Barlow, who explained that the right to appeal is personal and generally cannot continue after an appellant dies.
The appeals were filed by attorney at law Nigel Hughes on behalf of Mark Royden Williams, Dennis Williams, Michael Caesar, and Clebert Reece, who were convicted between 2016 and February 2017 for their roles in the February 17, 2008, attack in Bartica, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni). During that attack, gunmen stormed the Bartica Police Station and other locations, killing 12 persons, including three Police Officers stationed at the facility.

However, two of the convicted killers died before their appeals could be heard. Royden Williams was killed in 2023 during a confrontation with the Joint Services in Region Seven, weeks after escaping from the Mazaruni Prison in a daring May 2023 jailbreak. It was his second escape from custody, having previously broken out of the Camp Street Prison in 2017 before being recaptured later that year. Dennis Williams died in July 2024 while serving his sentence at the Mazaruni Prison after a period of illness.

No exceptional circumstances
In addressing those matters, Justice Barlow said the court determined that the appeals could not continue because the appellants were deceased.
“In relation to the appeals after the deaths of Royden Williams and Dennis Williams, the court determined that an appeal is a personal act, and when an appellant dies, there is no right that exists that allows for that appeal to continue,” she said.
The court noted that while it has discretion to proceed in exceptional circumstances, the grounds of appeal in the cases did not warrant such action.
The court also referred to the circumstances surrounding Royden Williams’ death, noting that he had escaped from custody before being killed. Justice Barlow said the court believed that because Williams had taken himself out of the legal system by escaping, he could not reasonably expect the system to work on his behalf while he was at large. As such, the Judges declined to exercise their discretion to continue the appeals.
The court then turned its attention to the surviving appellants, Michael Caesar and Clebert Reece, both of whom had pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter.

Severe penalties justified
In Caesar’s case, the appellate Judges dealt with resentencing for both the Lusignan Massacre and the Bartica killings, even though he had filed a single notice of appeal covering both matters. The court found that the determinate sentence previously imposed for manslaughter, 75 years, effectively exceeded the statutory maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
Justice Barlow explained that while severe penalties were justified given the gravity of the crimes, the punishment must remain within the limits established by legislation. As a result, the court set aside the earlier sentence and conducted a resentencing exercise.
For the Lusignan massacre, Caesar was resentenced to life imprisonment with 38 years to be served before eligibility for parole. However, eight years were deducted for time spent on remand, leaving 30 years to be served before parole eligibility.
For the Bartica killings, the court imposed life imprisonment with 40 years to be served before eligibility for parole. In that instance, no deduction was made for time spent on remand because the time served would have been equivalent to the remand period, one of the exceptions recognised in sentencing law. The court ordered that the sentences for the Lusignan and Bartica matters run concurrently.

Callous disregard for life, property
The Judges also noted that the Bartica massacre represented the second known set of killings involving Caesar and highlighted his role during the attacks. According to the court, Caesar admitted that he was armed and fired shots during the incident, demonstrating what the court described as a callous disregard for life and property.
The Court of Appeal also resentenced Clebert Reece for his role in the Bartica massacre. Although the court noted that there was no evidence that Reece carried or fired a firearm during the attack, it found that he played an important role by transporting members of the gang responsible for the killings.
Justice Barlow explained that the court considered several factors in determining the appropriate sentence, including Reece’s involvement in facilitating the crime as well as his personal circumstances.
The court also took into account evidence that Reece joined the group out of fear that harm could come to him and his family and that he had previously lived an unblemished life. Additionally, the Judges noted his efforts while in prison to reform himself.
Taking those factors into consideration, the court determined that his eligibility for parole should be set at 34 years, from which eight years were deducted for time spent on remand. This resulted in a final sentence of life imprisonment with 26 years to be served before eligibility for parole on each count.