THE Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of reducing a sentence imposed on Delon Gordon, called ‘Popcorn’, for throwing kerosene on his reputed wife Natasha Johnson, 23, and burning her to death on July 11, 2012 at Better Hope Squatting Area, East Coast Demerara.

In 2014, Gordon was found guilty of the offence by a 12-member jury and sentenced by Justice Navindra Singh to serve 83 years imprisonment for his crimes.

Gordon, through his attorney, Dexter Todd, then moved to the Appeal Court to have his conviction and sentence overturned. However, the court only allowed Gordon to appeal his sentence.

Todd had argued that the jury’s guilty verdict was unreasonable and could not be supported by the evidence presented at the trial.

On Friday, August 14, 2020, the court, comprising of Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George, and Justices of Appeal Rishi Persaud and Dawn Gregory, after considering the nature of the case, ruled that the sentence imposed by Justice Singh was excessive and severe.

The Court then reduced Gordon’s sentence to 62 years, and the time he spent in custody from his conviction in 2014 be deducted from his sentence.

According to reports, during an argument on July 4, 2011, Gordon reportedly set his residence on fire, causing the death of his reputed wife, Natasha Johnson.

Johnson, a mother of four, was burnt extensively and had to be taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, (GPHC) where she later succumbed to her injuries.

A post mortem revealed that Johnson had suffered from a dislocated nasogastric tube, brain haemorrhage and congested kidneys with heavy lungs that oozed a bloody liquid.