Mentally ill man slapped with 8-year sentence for murder

Ishaka John, formerly of Sophia, Greater Georgetown who was found guilty of the 2019 murder of Jason Bowen and also found to be insane was slapped with an eight-year prison sentence by Justice Jo-Ann Barlow.
Back in November 2023, a 12-member jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict, finding John, 28, guilty as charged.
The verdict was returned by section 177 of the Criminal Law (Procedure) Act, which states: “If any accused person appears, either before or on arraignment, to be insane, the court may order a jury to be empanelled to try the sanity of the person, and the jury shall thereupon, after hearing evidence for that person, find whether he is or is not insane and unfit to take his trial; but a verdict under this section shall not affect the trial of any person so found to be insane for the offence for which he was indicted if he subsequently becomes of sound mind.”
Following the conviction, Justice Jo-Ann Barlow postponed the case for early 2024, for further directions. Attorney-at-Law Nigel Hughes and associates represented John in the case, and State Counsel Praneta Seeraj was the prosecutor.
However, along with the jail sentence, which was handed down last Friday, the presiding judge gave numerous instructions to the Prison Service concerning his incarceration.
These include the GPS carrying out a psychiatric evaluation on John and more so, ordering that he continue to receive treatment as recommended by a psychiatrist.
In addition, the court orders that John be exposed to counselling sessions tailored to his present needs and also be exposed to skills training.
Further, he is to be taken before Justice Jo-Ann Barlow for periodic review every two years commencing February 2026.
“Upon the Court being satisfied that the offender is ready for reintegration into society, the Court shall order his release from custody on such conditions that the Court at the time of release deems fit,” the court stated.
It was reported that on October 12, 2019, John and a man, later identified as Jason Bowen, were involved in a scuffle on Church Street, Georgetown.
During the incident, John reportedly dealt the now-dead man several lashes about his body before wrapping a belt around his neck and proceeding to strangle him.
Public-spirited persons who witnessed the altercation rushed to assist the victim, and handed John over to the Police. At the time of his death, Bowen was 32 and resided at Camp Street, Georgetown.