JUSTICE Navindra Singh, at the High Court, on Thursday, handed an 8-year sentence to Simeon Pompey, after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

The 22-year-old was charged for the murder of Sydney Errol Campbell called ‘Bakey’.
The indictment read to the court stated that, on January 1, 2015, in the county of Demerara, Pompey murdered Campbell.

According to the facts of the matter, on the day in question, Campbell was walking with his sister in Anns Grove, when two persons approached them on a bicycle and attacked Campbell. One of the persons on the bicycle was Pompey. It was reported that the other person threw a brick at Campbell which hit him to his right leg, but Pompey stabbed him (Campbell).

On Tuesday, the other implicated person, Linden Williams, called ‘Surpy’, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 8 years. On the same day, Pompey appeared before the judge and pleaded not guilty and a jury was impaneled for a trial.

However, when Pompey returned to the Court on Thursday for trial to commence, he told the court he wanted to change his plea. He then pleaded not guilty to murder and guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter.

To aid in mitigating his sentence, Pompey’s attorney, Nigel Hughes, told the court that his client was very young at the time of the incident. Additionally, during his time incarcerated, Pompey became a certified welder, and took up poetry as a hobby. He even participated in poetry competitions.

Justice Singh took into account that he has been making good of himself during his time in prison, and he can be a valuable addition to society. He showed remorse for what he and done, and didn’t waste the court’s time.

As such he was given a lenient 8 years’ sentence.
He was advised to continue down his changed path and work towards preparing himself to return to normal society.

The state was represented by attorneys, Teriq Mohamed, Tuanna Hardy and Sarah Martin.