THE chamber of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), in 2020, gave legal advice in 3,684 files received from the Guyana Police Force and other law enforcement agencies in 2020.
During 2020, 101 cases were disposed of, 83 of these cases received attention in the courts, while 18 matters were Nolle Prosequi by the DPP.
Of these 83 cases, 52 were presented at the Demerara Assizes, 15 at the Berbice Assizes and five at the Essequibo Assizes
There were 63 cases for the offence of murder, three cases for attempted murder, 15 cases for sexual offences and two cases for the offence of manslaughter.
Additionally, there were 12 convictions, 53 guilty pleas, nine formal verdicts of not guilty, five not guilty verdicts by jury, five hung juries, three aborted trials, one quashed indictment and 18 cases were Nolle Prosequi.
Also, in 2020, the DPP’s office received 75 Committal Depositions: 32 of these from the county of Demerara, 29 from the county of Berbice and 14 from the County of Essequibo.
Of these 75 depositions, 51 have been indicted, three charges were discontinued, 19 are receiving attention and two were remitted to the Magistrates’ Courts.
The DPP’s Office gave legal advice in 3,684 files received from the Guyana Police Force (GPF).
The Demerara January 2021 Criminal Assizes will open on Tuesday, January 12.
There are 342 cases listed to be heard. Madam Justice Jo-Ann Barlow; Justice Brassington Reynolds and Justice Navindra Singh have been rostered to sit during this session.
The February 2021 Berbice Criminal Assizes will commence on Tuesday, February 2. Madam Justice Simone Ramlall will continue the October 2020 Assizes and open the February 2021, Criminal Assizes.
The Essequibo October 2O2O Assizes will begin sitting on January 5, 2021 presided over by Justice Gino Persaud
During 2020, the DPP appeared in 15 appeals in the Court of Appeal. Of these 15 appeals, six were for the offence of murder, four for the offence of manslaughter, two for sexual offences and one each for the offences of attempted murder, falsification of accounts by clerk or servant and robbery with aggravation.
There were 10 appeals against conviction and sentence. One of these appeals was
withdrawn and one was allowed. The other eight appeals were allowed in part. In two of these eight cases, the appeal against the conviction of murder was allowed and the offence of manslaughter was substituted, and the appellants sentenced. In the other six cases, the appeal against conviction was dismissed and the sentences were varied.