THE courtroom of Justice Sandil Kissoon was on Thursday filled with mixed emotions as the judge handed down a 5 year sentence to 43-year-old Eon Archibald, after the accused offered the victim compensation in the sum of $300,000.

Archibald, who is a security guard, was facing charges for two alternative counts, which State Prosecutor, Abbigail Gibbs presented before the court.

For the first count; on June 4th 2015, in the county of Demerara, Archibald attempted to murder Dwayne Anthony Wallace called ‘Country’ or in the alternative, wounded Wallace, with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm, maim, disable, or disfigure him.

He initially pleaded not guilty to both charges. However, he changed to a guilty plea during the course of his trial.

During the trial, the victim testified that he was attacked and chopped twice, by Archibald, who accused him of having an affair with his reputed wife, an accusation he denied.
The reputed wife stood in the witness box on Thursday, and took responsibility for the incident, admitting that she did have an affair with ‘Country’.

Archibald expressed great remorse for what he did, looking over to the victim in the courtroom and pleading for his forgiveness. He told Wallace that he is sorry for what he did and he was acting out of anger and was confused about the situation.

Wallace however, said that even though he accepted the compensation, he will not accept the apology offered since he almost lost his life.

Justice Kissoon saw the genuine manifestation of remorse coming from the accused and his family but interjected, stating that it does not excuse his actions but can only be used as mitigation of sentence, along with the compensation.

After a quick recess, Judge returned with the sentence, stating that it should be used as a determinant to any other individual in society who may contemplate on reacting in such manner in similar situations.

He started at 20 years, deducted six years six months for the fact that he made a guilty plea and saved the court time, four years six months for the favourable probation report that was submitted, eight months for the time spent already, and a further three years four months for showing remorse and the compensation offered.

This left Archibald with a total of five years imprisonment. His family broke down in tears in the courtroom as they expressed that he is the main provider for his six children.