Reduced prison sentence imminent for former death row inmate

…found guilty of manslaughter during retrial  

Five years after receiving a death sentence at the High Court after being found guilty of killing another man over a motorcycle, Terry Kissoon was declared guilty again for his crime – only this time, it was the lesser count of manslaughter.
This means that Justice Sandil Kissoon, who presided over the matter, is expected to impose a sentence of lesser severity when the offender is sentenced on November 8, 2018.
The defendant was indicted twice at the High Court on charges of murdering Troy Smith between July 30 and 31, 2010, at Smith’s Thomas Street, Kitty, Georgetown residence. He denied the charge on both occasions. However, Police reports that chronicled the events had stated that the two men ended up in a heated confrontation after Kissoon had accused Smith of stealing his motorcycle. It was highlighted that Kissoon gave Smith 24 hours to return the vehicle, but then he allegedly took out a handgun and shot Smith in the abdomen before reportedly making his escape.
During his first trial, Kissoon was unanimously found guilty and issued the death penalty in 2013 by Justice Diana Insanally, before that decision was challenged and eventually overturned by the Appeals Court in July 2018. As such, a fresh trial was ordered and the matter came up during the ongoing session of the Demerara Criminal Assizes. During the proceedings which lasted over a week, State Counsels Lisa Cave and Orinthia Schmidt prosecuted the matter, closing their case last Monday.
On Thursday last, Justice Kissoon summed up the trial evidence before handing the matter to the jury for deliberation. After several hours of consideration, the panel returned with a 10-2 guilty verdict, finding the offender guilty of the lesser count of manslaughter. This means that the former death row inmate will be handed a commuted sentence. He was represented by Senior Counsel Bernard De Santos during the most recent trial.