At Demerara Assizes…
ANOTHER prisoner originally indicted for murder has been jailed for manslaughter, after pleading guilty to the less serious crime.

Justice William Ramlal sentenced ex-policeman Clement Bailey to four years imprisonment on Thursday last.

The prisoner had faced an indictment for the capital offence for the unlawful killing of Clifton Garraway.

However, the State was allowed to accept his plea of not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter.

Following a favourable probation report and a stirring mitigation appeal by Defence Counsel Hukumchand, who was associated with other attorneys-at-law Kamini and Sonia Parag, the judge reduced the seven years sentence he intended to impose to four years.

Justice Ramlal noted that, from the record, it would appear that the victim was the aggressor that night when he indecently assaulted a woman and threatened the prisoner after being challenged about his action at a birthday party.

The judge said Garraway disarmed Bailey of one, not knowing that the latter had another weapon, which he used during the scuffle between them.

The resulting effect was that Garraway was shot dead.

However, the judge said Bailey should have summoned back-up instead of tackling Garraway single-handedly.

State Counsel Fabayo Azore, who presented the case for the Prosecution, said that the trouble started when it was reported to Bailey that Garraway had touched the bust of a woman.

Bailey enquired of Garraway why he did so and he responded :“So what you can do about it?”

The Prosecutor said Bailey identified himself as a policeman and then fired about four or five shots at Garraway, who died later, from shock and haemorrhage, due to multiple gunshot injuries.

Justice Ramlal took into consideration that Bailey had a previously clean record and expressed hope that he would redeem himself and think about his future. (GEORGE BARCLAY)