NINETEEN matters were disposed of in the last session of the Demerara Criminal Assizes, the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions, (DPP) has reported.
The chambers said that the session officially ended with Justice Navindra Singh dispensing the gaol delivery Monday, bringing an end to the January 2O17,Demerara Criminal Assizes which commenced on Tuesday 10th January, 2017.
The January 2O17,Demerara assizes was presided over by Justice Jo-Ann Barlow and Justice Roxane George, S.C. who had continued with one matter from the October 2016 Criminal Assizes. The DPP office noted that there are 152 cases listed to be heard during the April Session of the Demerara Assizes when it opens today before Madam Justice Jo-Ann Barlow and Justice Navindra Singh.
According to the DPP, a total of 14O cases were listed to be heard during the Assizes;however only 19 matters were presented. Of these l9 matters that were presented, eight of them were for the offence of murder, one for the offence of manslaughter, five of them for rape of a child under 16 years, two cases for the offence of attempt to commit murder with alternative counts of discharging a loaded firearm with intent,and felonious wounding respectively, one case for the offence of rape and robbery, one case of having Sexual Activity with A Child Family Member and one for the offence of Carnal Knowledge. Further, there were seven guilty pleas, four convictions, four not guilty verdicts, one formal verdict of not guilty by judge and three hung juries.
Meanwhile, during this time, the Essequibo October 2O16 Criminal Assizes was in progress. Madam Justice Priya Sewnarine-Beharry,who first sat at the beginning of this session had seven matters presented before her. Of these she completed three in the month of February 2017. Of these three matters,one each was for the offences of Rape of A Child under 16 Years, Rape,and Murder.
Justice Nareshwar Harnanan who sat from January, closed the October Assizes and then opened the February 2O17 Assizes on Tuesday 2l February, 2017. At the same time Justice James Bovell-Drakes continued the Berbice October 2016 Criminal Assizes and then opened the February 2017 Session. Eight matters have been completed so far. Of these, four were for the offence of Rape of a Child under 16 years, three were for the offence of murder and one for the offence of Abduction. In all four matters related to the offence of Rape of a Child under 16 years,the VCs went into the witness box and testified that they did not wish to proceed with the evidence,causing the respective trial judges to direct the juries to return formal verdicts of not guilty. In one of the three cases for the offence of Murder, the accused pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of Manslaughter and was sentenced to twelve years imprisonment.
The DPP office noted that there are 152 cases listed to be heard during the April Session of the Demerara Assizes when it commences on Tuesday 4th April, 2O17 before Madam Justice Jo-Ann Barlow and Justice Navindra Singh. The Berbice February Assizes will continue until June 20, 2017 when the June session commences. The Essequibo February Assizes will also continue until the May Assizes start on May 16,2O17. In addition, the DPP chambers noted that during the months of January and February 2O17, five matters were disposed of in the Court of Appeal while six matters were heard in the Demerara Full Court. The five matters disposed of in the Court of Appeal included Causing Death by Dangerous Driving, Possession of Narcotics for the Purposes of Trafficking and Attempting to Commit Murder.