– Sentenced to seven-year prison term

By Feona Morrison
JUSTICE Priya Sewnarine-Beharry of the Demerara High Court has sentenced a 58-year-old man to seven years in prison for the death of his nephew, whom he admitted to strangling.

Last month, Ganesh Persaud Lall, though indicted for the capital offence of murder, opted to plead guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter in connection with the July 2018 killing. He confessed to killing his nephew, 30-year-old Jason Rajendra Paul Hira, between July 15 and 16, 2018.

Lall’s sentencing hearing was postponed by the judge until Monday so that victim impact statements and reports on probation and jail behaviour could be heard.

State Counsel Joy Williams and State Counsel Caressa Henry prosecuted the case. Khemraj Ramjattan, an attorney at law, was Ganesh Persaud Lall’s lawyer.

Justice Sewnarine-Beharry mandated that the Prison Service deduct Lall’s time spent in pre-trial imprisonment from the seven-year custodial term. In 2018, Lall was admitted to jail. The judge further mandated that Lall participate in programmes designed to support his rehabilitation.

Hira had lived at Anna Catherina with Lall and his grandparents.

Hira was known to routinely demand money from his grandparents, Lall’s parents, and other community members in order to support his smoking of illicit drugs and binge drinking habits, according to information presented during Lall’s sentencing hearing on Monday.

And he would physically and verbally abuse them if they refused to give him money.

In his statement before the court, Lall said that, on July 15, 2018, he heard his nephew fighting with his grandparents over money when he got home late. Lall further said that he got into a confrontation with his nephew and strangled him.

Hira was found unconscious in the bathroom by his grandmother somewhere around 06:00 hours the next day. According to the police, his neck bore marks of violence. His cause of death was listed as neck compression injuries leading to asphyxiation.

According to information revealed in court, Hira, and his uncle occasionally disagreed over his lifestyle. Hira has run afoul of the law multiple times for minor infractions.

In a plea of mitigation, Lall’s attorney referred to Hira’s passing as a sad circumstance. Ramjattan said that despite Hira being a “bright person,” he exhibited challenging behaviour.

Lall’s family members offered the court impact statements in which they asked the court to forgive Lall for the terrible event that broke their family up. They admitted they did not like Hira’s lifestyle of delinquency and that they tried to help him, but he refused.

Hira was compelled to return to Guyana after being arrested in the USA for stalking women. Lall’s sister, Hira’s mother, pleaded with the judge to allow her brother to return to society so that he could take care of their sick mother, describing her brother as kind and caring.

In her testimony, Hira’s mother said that her now-deceased son had previously attacked her with a knife and choked her. She said that, as a result, she was forced to get a protection order against him. The mother shared that although her son was smart, he was “influenced by his wealthy friends while in school.” Hira went to one of the top public secondary schools in Guyana.
In her remarks, Prosecutor Joy Williams made reference to the frequency of unlawful killings in society while pleading with the judge to take the seriousness of the offence into account when determining a sentence.

Williams submitted that Hira, who was just 30 at the time, had been denied the opportunity to lead a fulfilling life, pointing out that Lall had strangled his nephew and left him on the bathroom floor. The prosecutor maintained that the goal of sentencing should always be to discourage offenders and future offenders.

Lall, in the meantime, expressed his regret for his actions and told the judge he was sorry for what had happened. “I am pleading with you for forgiveness,” said the man, who appeared to be regretful. Before this sad event, Lall’s criminal record was spotless.

The judge started with a base of 18 years to determine an appropriate sentence, deducting one-third (six years) for Lall’s early guilty plea. The judge then subtracted five years for mitigating reasons from the remaining 12 years, leaving seven years.

This offender has to be credited for time spent in pre-trial custody.