JERMAINE Maynard, who in 2016 was sentenced to serve 88 years imprisonment for the gruesome murder of his ex-girlfriend, on Monday had his sentence reduced to 46 years by the Guyana Court of Appeal.

In 2016, Maynard was found guilty of the capital offence, which read that between December 31, 2013, and January 1, 2014, at Croal Street, Georgetown, he murdered Carlisa Matthews.

Trial judge, Navindra Singh, subsequently sentenced Maynard to 88 years in prison.
Dissatisfied, Maynard through his attorney Nigel Hughes, moved to the appeal court seeking to have the conviction and sentence overturned or set aside. He claimed that Justice Singh erred on several pertinent issues leading up to the verdict in the High Court.

As it relates to the severity of the sentence, Maynard claimed that the trial judge erred in law by failing to apply case law principles that promote fairness in sentencing.

The appeal was heard by Chancellor (ag), Yonette Cummings-Edwards, and Justices of Appeal Dawn Gregory and Rishi Persaud.
The state was represented by Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Dionne McCammon.

Justice Cummings-Edwards, while delivering the ruling, noted that the court allowed the appeal in relation to the sentence, but not his conviction.
The court found that the previously imposed sentence was manifestly excessive, taking into consideration the life expectancy as outlined by the United Nations’ sentencing guidelines, and its previous rulings.

As such, the court reduced Maynard’s sentence to 46 years.

The Guyana Chronicle had reported that Matthews and Maynard had shared a relationship, which ended a few months prior to the murder.
On December 31, 2013, around 21:00hrs, Matthews, along with her mother and stepfather, were standing outside the KFC restaurant in the Stabroek Market area.

Maynard then approached her, drew a gun, and shot her to the head, causing her to fall to the ground. Matthews was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH), where she succumbed to her injuries around 02:15hrs on January 1, 2014.