JUSTICE Dawn Gregory yesterday imposed a 15-year prison sentence on murder accused, Anthony Sherwyn Hyles, at the Demerara Assizes after he pleaded not guilty to the murder of Joel Savoury, but guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter.

The judge was of the view, from the probation report and the recorded evidence, that the accused had been subjected to severe provocation when he was forced to arm himself with a bottle in order to defend himself that day; and when the deceased attacked him for allegedly saying unsavory things about him, Hyles had broken the bottle and used it to defend himself.

The doctor who had performed the post-mortem examination on the body of Joel Savoury had reported that he found two incised wounds on the left side of Savoury’s neck, and that those had resulted in Savoury’s death from shock and haemorrhage.

Hyles took the sentence imposed on him calmly.

Misses Natasha Backer and Mercedes Thompson, DPP lawyers, conducted the case for the prosecution.

(George Barclay)