36 cases disposed of in 1st quarter by Demerara Criminal Assizes

A total of 36 cases were disposed of at the January sitting of Demerara Criminal Assizes, according to a statement from the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). The session began on January 12, 2021, with 342 cases listed for hearing.
Of these 36 issues, the DPP lodged 23 in the Demerara High Court. The other 13 issues were nolle prosequi in writing by the DPP. Of the 23 issues, 14 were for murder, eight for sexual offenses, and one for attempted murder with another count of felonious wounding.
29 were charged in relation to these matters. There were four convictions, three formal guilty verdicts, eight suspended juries, eight innocent jury verdicts, and five guilty pleas. Before Justice Navindra Singh, eight murder cases were presented.
In three of these cases, the juries returned and the accused were remanded to prison to await new trials. In the other five issues, one of which had two accused who both pleaded guilty, they were sentenced to 39 and 29 years imprisonment.
In another two, one accused was sentenced to 60 years imprisonment after the jury unanimously found him guilty, while the other pleaded guilty to the lesser offense of manslaughter and sentenced to seven years and 11 months imprisonment . In one of the other two cases, the Trial Judge upheld a no-case submission and instructed the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty.
The accused in the other was acquitted by the jury with a unanimous verdict of not guilty.
A further eight sexual offenses issues were brought before Justice Jo-Ann Barlow in the Sex Offender Court. In two of these cases, the two were found guilty by the jury. One accused charged with two counts of rape of a child under 16 was sentenced to 22 years on the first count and 25 years on the second count. These sentences will run concurrently.
The other accused were sentenced to 21 years imprisonment. Four accused were acquitted by jury verdicts while in the other two cases, juries returned hanging. The accused in these latter cases is awaiting re-birth. Seven issues were put before Justice Brassington Reynolds.
Six of the issues involved murder, and one for attempted murder with another count of felonious wounding. The accused who got revenge for attempted murder with another count of felonious wounding was found guilty of the latter offense. He was sentenced to five years imprisonment and the complainant received $ 500,000 compensation in court.
In three of the six murder cases, the accused were all acquitted. Two of the acquittals were by jury verdicts, but in the other matter, the Trial Judge upheld a no-case submission and instructed the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty. In one of the murder cases, the two accused who were indicted together were found not guilty by the jury.
In the other three issues, two accused pleaded guilty to the lesser offense of manslaughter. One of them was sentenced to five years imprisonment, and the other is awaiting sentencing. A murder case is still ongoing before Justice Reynolds.
Of the 13 prosequi nolle issues by the DPP, 12 were for sexual offenses and another for narcotics trafficking. In 11 of the sexual offense issues, the complainants submitted written statements that they did not wish to pursue their affairs.
In the other case, the accused died while awaiting trial. In the other narcotic substance trafficking matter, the accused had committed to stand trial 24 years ago and the witness could not be found. April Demerara Criminal Assizes will begin Tuesday, April 6, 2020; 329 cases are listed for hearing.
Justice Sandil Kissoon and Justice Brassington Reynolds are listed for sitting.