Over the years, members of the public have questioned the state’s decision to accept manslaughter pleas for accused murder, especially in those cases where men have brutally killed their female partners or exes and then received seemingly light sentences for their heinous acts.
State Prosecutor Natasha Backer said on Stabroek Weekend that she had exactly those concerns before becoming state counsel. However, he explained that due to the unreliability of jurors, by accepting the guilty plea, prosecutors are certain that the accused will receive a sentence.
“You might say, no, we don’t accept it and then you leave it to the jury, and we all know what happens with juries sometimes,” he said.
When asked if the weight of the evidence is taken into account before accepting such a plea, Backer responded in the negative, pointing out that “the sad reality is that, regardless of the weight of the evidence, there is no reassurance that the jury is going to return a guilty verdict, because remember that things can happen that are not supposed to happen. ”
As to whether a victim’s relatives consented to the plea, Backer said there is no legal requirement for this as the crimes are not committed against a complainant as such but against the state. He said that if contacted, the prosecutor would take those individuals’ views into account, but it is not legally binding.
He pointed out that people generally reveal things after the fact and as a result suggested that what might need to be explored is a more open line of communication between the prosecution and the families of the deceased.
“Because it could be that they didn’t know we were going to take the guilty plea, so they feel blind after it happens,” she said, though she added that they are often told about the plea.
When asked about the criticism by some that state counsel agreed to the guilty pleas out of laziness, Backer noted that if the matter goes to trial and the accused walks, “those same people would say that the prosecutor taking money. It’s damned if you do and damned if you don’t “.
“Those are the claims we live with every day,” added a spokeswoman for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Liz Rahaman.
They both pointed out that there are times when they present what might be considered airtight cases and at the end, shockingly, the jury returns a not guilty verdict. “At least when they plead guilty, you have a warrant. Yes, you may not get as high a sentence as you would if you went to trial, but at least they will surely get something rather than the risk that they won’t they serve no time at all. So it’s a balancing act, ”Backer added.
In January last year, Michael Anthony Persaud pleaded guilty to killing his 19-year-old wife in 2011 and was sentenced to 15 years by Justice Sandil Kissoon. Persaud on December 23, 2011, murdered Maduri Padumdeo in Lot 8 North Sophia. Despite being charged with murder, Persaud pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter. In November 2014, Persaud was sentenced to 83 years in prison for the murder after being convicted by a 12-member jury. He then appealed the conviction and sentence arguing that the trial judge committed a number of errors that resulted in miscarriage of justice and that the sentence imposed was too harsh. The conviction was then overturned and a new trial ordered. Padumdeo’s naked body was found in the bedroom of a North Sophia home with wire wrapped around her neck as Persaud lay by her side.
In February 2020, another man pleaded to the lesser charge of manslaughter in the killing of his wife and was sentenced to 21 years by Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall. Sunildate Balack admitted killing Lilwantie Balack, 39. In sentencing the man Justice Morris-Ramlall said that, considering all the circumstances, he found that a 35 year sentence was appropriate. However, he said because of his guilty plea, 11 years will be deducted and another three deducted due to the time spent by the convict on remand. Balack, also known as’ Redman ‘, of Lot 117 Mibicuri North, Black Bush Polder, admitted between Thursday September 6, 2016 and March 31, 2017 in Mibicuri North, Black Bush Polder, that he killed Lilwantie Balack, 39, o’ same address. The remains of the woman were found buried behind the couple’s home months after he reported that she had left the country.
In 2018, Justice Brassington Reynolds sentenced Rose Hall man Corentyne to ten years in prison after pleading guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter in the killing of his common law wife in May, 2016. Desmond Gordon was charged with murdering Bhagmattie Etwaroo , 50, at their Lot 196 Mangrove Street, Rose Hall, Corentyne. During the argument she dealt with the woman several chills and jumped from the steps of the upper flat to the basement of her house to escape shots from Gordon. However, he had already cut her for her body, including her neck. The woman ran into the store where she fell.
There was also the 2017 case of 20-year-old Angelique Williams, who was sentenced to eight years in prison for the 2015 killing of her pregnant best friend, Lloyda Renita Thomas, whom she stabbed some 22 times. Williams had pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing Thomas and although she pleaded not guilty to murdering one’s young mother, she admitted guilt on the lesser charge of manslaughter for illegally killing her best friend on Dec. 23, 2015 in Versailles, Demerara y West bank. The sentence was handed down by Justice Navindra Singh at the High Court in Georgetown, after submitting a probation report previously requested by Williams’ attorney, Mark Waldron. Prosecutor Tuanna Hardy had asked the judge to visit the juvenile convict with a sentence commensurate with the offense. The court reminded that Thomas, just 21, who was in her third term with her second child, suffered 22 incised wound wounds at the hands of someone she trusted and considered her best friend.
And in 2013, Essequibo resident Suresh Persaud, who beat his wife to death, was sentenced to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter before Justice Franklyn Holder. Persaud, known as ‘Gye,’ had pleaded not guilty to the murder charge but changed his guilty plea to the lesser charge of manslaughter after Justice Holder admitted his statement to the police in evidence at the end of voir dire (trial within trial). In October 2010, Persaud beat Nandranie Narine, 40, with wood and a grater, after which she put a bottle in her vagina. She was found with facial and head wounds at her Columbia home, Essequibo Coast by her son, Talesh Narine, who had gone to visit her. She was living with Persaud at the time. Justice Holder had told the man he was a wicked and wicked man who committed a heinous crime. He then sentenced him to 22 years in prison, but deducted eight years for the time he was imprisoned, his attorney’s mitigating plea, his guilty plea, he didn’t waste court time and pleaded for mercy.
There have been cases where the state has refused to accept a guilty plea to lesser counts by those convicted of murder.
Beverley Persaud and Oswald Junior Yaw, the `hitman ‘who hired to kill her husband, Nathan Andrew Persaud, in Herstelling, recently pleaded guilty to murder and were given long sentences.
After empowering a jury to hear the case, Justice Singh had officially adjourned the matter to begin the case but when the case was called, the duo told the court they no longer wanted to go to trial and instead threw their case to the mercy of the court pleading guilty to the charge of murder. However, in this case the prosecution did not accept pleas for the lesser offense of manslaughter, which saw both then plead to the capital offense for which they were originally designated. Justice Singh sentenced Persaud to 29 years in prison and Yaw to 39 years.