–as Court hears of ‘forgiveness’ by murder victim’s grandmother

CONVICTED murderer Mark Royden Williams, known as “Smallie”, was on Thursday sentenced to death for the 2008 murder of Guyana Defence Force (GDF) officer Ivor Williams.

‘Smallie’ Williams, who is currently a death row inmate, was found guilty of the murder in late July, and was sentenced by Justice Sandil Kissoon on Thursday at the Demerara High Court.

24-year-old Ivor Williams was killed on January 23, 2008 during a confrontation at Buxton, East Coast Demerara (ECD).

Prior to the sentence being handed down, the Court heard a probation report which stated that residents of the Buxton and Friendship communities recalled the period as a terrifying one.

It further noted that young persons from the villages were forced to be part of the gang that brought fear and terror to the community.

Additionally, as the social worker presented the report, she stated that the victim’s grandmother had forgiven Williams, and that her grandson’s opportunity to be a father to his daughter, who was an infant at the time, was snatched from him.

As such, in a final plea, Williams’s attorney told the Court that before sentencing, it should be considered that his client is young, and can be rehabilitated, even as he added that that period was a difficult one in Guyana’s history.

However, State Prosecutor Taneisha Saygon told the Court that the seriousness of the offence, along with the aggravating factors should be considered.

As a result, Justice Kissoon said that the crime was a calculated effort to murder soldiers for no reason other than the fact that they were members of the Disciplined Services.

The Judge added that the case of Williams was among the worst which he noted attracted the death sentence. He indicated that the accused will have to suffer death for his criminal acts.

In February 2017, Williams was sentenced to death when a jury found him guilty of eight counts of murder in relation to the 2008 Bartica Massacre, in which a dozen persons, including three police officers, were shot dead.

Several months later, in July 2017, Williams escaped from the prison at Camp Street, Georgetown during a riot. It is believed that he was the mastermind.

Williams, however, was nabbed on October 9, 2017, at Weldaad, West Coast Berbice (WCB), while travelling in a public minibus.

In 2013, Williams was acquitted after a 12-member jury found him not guilty of the charges against him in relation to the 2008 Lusignan Massacre, which claimed the lives of 11 persons, including five children.