GAOL delivery was done on Thursday by Justice Navindra Singh bringing to an end the Demerara April 2017 Criminal Assizes which commenced on April 4, 2017.

The assizes was presided over by Justice Singh and Madam Justice Jo-Ann Barlow and a total of 152 cases were listed to be heard.

According to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), 23 matters were disposed of during the Demerara April 2017 Criminal Assizes.

Of these 23 matters, 17 were presented at the Assizes and six matters were nolle prosequi in writing by the DPP.

Of these 17 cases that were presented, there were nine guilty pleas, four guilty verdicts, one formal verdict of not guilty, one hung jury and two not guilty verdicts by jury.

Justice Navindra Singh completed 11 matters and of these 11 matters, five of them were for five accused, who were indicted together for the offences of attempt to commit murder of a policeman, discharging loaded firearm with intent, and unlawful possession of ammunition, murder with an alternative attempted murder, setting fire to the High Court building and murder.

Six other cases for the offence of murder were presented before Justice Singh.

In three of these six cases, the accused all pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter and were respectively sentenced to eight, 15 and nine years imprisonment depending on the particular circumstances of each case.

In two other separate trials for the offence of murder, one accused was sentenced to life imprisonment after the jury returned a majority verdict in proportion of 11 guilty to one not guilty for the lesser offence of manslaughter.

While in the other case, the jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict and the accused was sentenced to 65 years imprisonment.

In another one trial for the offence of murder, the jury returned a majority verdict in proportion of 10 guilty to two not guilty. The accused in this matter will be sentenced on June 12, 2017.

Justice Jo-Ann Barlow completed six matters; one each for the offences of carnal knowledge of girl under 15 years and rape of a child under 16 years.

Three matters were for the offence of murder and one case for the offence of sexual activity with a child under 16 years.

In the one matter for the offence of carnal knowledge of a girl under 15 years, the accused was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment after the jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict.

DID NOT CONTINUE
The virtual complainant (VC) in the case for the offence of rape of a child under 16 years went into the witness box and testified that she did not wish to continue with her matter. Justice Barlow then directed the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty.

In one of the three murder cases, the accused pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter and was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment. In another one case, the jury failed to reach a verdict.

A retrial has to be done for this matter. While the accused in the other one case was acquitted after the jury returned with a unanimous verdict of not guilty for the offence of murder and a majority verdict in proportion of 11 to one not guilty of the lesser offence of manslaughter.

At the same time the Berbice February 2017 Criminal Assizes, which commenced on Tuesday, February 7, 2017 was in progress with Justice James Bovell-Drakes, who first sat from January and closed the October 2016 Assizes and then opened the February Assizes.

Ninety-two cases have been listed to be heard during this Assizes. Of these cases, nine of them received attention during the four months, February to May.

Ten matters have been completed by Justice Bovell-Drakes. Of these 10 matters, three were for the offence of murder, four for rape of a child under 16 years, one for the offence of abduction and two for the offence of attempt to commit murder with alternative counts of wounding with intent and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

During this time, the Essequibo May 2017 Criminal Assizes had commenced on Tuesday, May 6, 2017 before Justice Brassington Reynolds, who sat from April and then opened the May 2017 Criminal Assizes.

Two matters have been presented before Justice Reynolds, one for the offence of rape of a child under 16 years and other for the offence of murder.

Meanwhile, the office of the DPP appeared before the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) during May 2017 in the matter of Vishnu Bridgelall v. The State for the offence of Possession of Narcotics for the purpose of Trafficking.

In its decision, the CCJ confirmed the convictions by the magistrates’ court and the Guyana Court of Appeal, but adjusted the sentences by the magistrate from consecutive to concurrent.

The CCJ also declared that Bridgelall’s constitutional right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time has been breached and therefore stayed the enforcement of the remainder of his prison sentence. However, The Court ruled that the prisoner must pay his fines of G$254M.