Ishaka John, formerly of Sophia, Greater Georgetown, was further remanded to prison on Wednesday after he was found guilty of the 2019 murder of Jason Bowen; but he was also found to be insane by a mixed 12-member jury.
Following deliberations, the panel 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.”
Guilty: Ishaka John
Justice Jo-Ann Barlow of the Demerara High Court has, however, postponed the case until January 9, 2024, for further directions. Attorney-at-Law Nigel Hughes and associates represented John in the case, and State Counsel Praneta Seeraj and State Counsel Padma Dubraj were prosecutors.
According to reports, at about 21:30h on October 12, 2019, John and a man, later identified as Bowen, were involved in a scuffle on Church Street, Georgetown.
It was reported that Bowen 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.
