No stranger to the courtroom

By Jeune Bailey Van Keric
JUSTICE Jo-Ann Barlow imposed a 15-year sentence on Charles   Goodluck, who ‘threw in the towel’, by confessing to a lesser count of manslaughter which was accepted by the State.

The 68-year-old man, sporting sunglasses, had to be guided up the stairway of the Berbice High Court by officers of the Guyana Prison Service, before entering the Criminal Court where he denied the initial charge of murder.

Goodluck, a convicted felon, unlawfully killed Chandradatt Hussain on August 22, 2013 at Kwakwani, Upper Berbice River, and, after doing so, hung the deceased so that it would appear as if Hussain had committed suicide.

State Prosecutrix, Ms. Tuanna Hardy, in rehashing the evidence, told the court that in the early morning hours of the day in question, Hussain went to the camp complaining that he was hungry.

After he was served with food, he requested some more and was told to help himself. Later, he requested cigarettes to smoke, and after he was given those, he fell asleep in a hammock.

Thereafter, he went into the tray of a nearby tractor, where a disagreement ensued between him and Goodluck, resulting in a scuffle. At that time Hussain was armed with a knife. However, Goodluck disarmed his attacker and, thereafter, tied a rope around his victim’s neck, and threw the loose end over a wooden rafter, where Hussain was left suspended.

After the act was committed, Goodluck went outside and sat on the tractor and trailer until his boss Mr. Bovell and other workers returned to the camp.

Goodluck said he lied to his boss when he said Hussain had killed himself. He expressed regret over the incident.

The sexagenarian, who is a father of five, grandfather of 10, and great-grandfather of three, is no stranger to the courtroom. On previous occasions, he has convicted of wounding and attempted murder.

Attorney at law, Ms. Sasha Roberts acted as a friend of the court on Goodluck’s behalf.