Port Kaituma man gets 11 years for uncle’s killing

A twenty-one-year-old man who killed his aunt’s husband over a simple query was on Tuesday sentenced to 11 years imprisonment by High Court Judge Navindra Singh. The accused, Herman George, of Port Kaituma, Region One (Barima-Waini) was accused of chopping his uncle, Michael Williams, called “Smokey” to death on March 29, 2012 in the Essequibo county. He pleaded not guilty to the capital offence of murder but guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter when the charge was read to him.

According to the facts of the case, George was 16 years old when family circumstances forced him to leave secondary school in Fourth Form and pursue work as a miner in the interior.

State Prosecutor Tamica Clarke related that shortly after, his uncle inquired of him why he was working in the interior at such a young age. The query was said to have angered the then teenaged George so much that he chopped his aunt’s husband to the back of the head with a cutlass. Clarke appealed for a commensurate sentence to be issued against the accused. George’s defence counsel, Mark Conway told the court that his client had an unfortunate upbringing.

Conway further noted that the accused is still very young and can still contribute to society and his family. George declined to address the court when asked by the Judge if he had anything to say. The accused appeared to be of ill health when he stood from the prisoner’s dock. Guyana Times was informed that George contracted Tuberculosis while incarcerated.