8 NEWS
FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM
Guyana needs sentencing guidelines for child sexual offences – CCJ
– as it reduces sentence for man convicted of raping 14-year-old
T
he Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on Thursday underscored the need for sentencing guidelines to be developed and published by the Judiciary of Guyana. This observation was made in a ruling handed down by the regional court, in which it reduced the sentence against convicted rapist Linton Pompey, who is currently serving 37 years’ imprisonment for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old relative. The High Court had convicted Pompey in 2015 for sexual penetration of a child under the age of 16, which had occurred twice between 2012 and 2013; and he had respectively been sentenced to 15 and 17 years’ imprisonment. He was also sentenced to an additional five years for engaging in sexual activity with a minor in 2011. The trial judge had ordered that the sentences run consecutively, making the total prison time 37 years. However, the father of 12 had subsequently appealed his conviction and sentence, but that appeal had been dismissed by the Court of Appeal, thus he had approached the CCJ – Guyana’s final appellate court. The CCJ had given Pompey only permission to appeal his claim that his sentences were too severe. In the CCJ decision on Thursday, it was noted that all seven judges of the CCJ had unanimously agreed that
Linton Pompey
the cumulative 37-year sentence was excessive, but the judges were divided on how that time should be reduced. The majority opinion was delivered by CCJ President Justice Adrian Saunders on his behalf and on behalf of Justices Maureen RajnauthLee, Denys Barrow, Andrew Burgess and Peter Jamadar. They noted that although it was open to the trial judge to order consecutive sentences, as the offences arose from separate incidents, the trial judge did not sufficiently consider that the resulting combined sentence would be excessively high. The CCJ judges noted that the trial judge could have imposed for the second rape, the most serious offence, a sentence that fairly reflected the offender’s overall criminality. In this way, they explained, Pompey would have served the lesser two sentences simultaneously with the sentences given for the second rape. In applying this option,
the majority held that the sentence of 17 years passed for the second rape was neither so lenient nor so harsh that it warranted being set aside by an appellate court. The majority therefore did not adjust that sentence, but ordered that the other two sentences be served at the same time with it, resulting in an overall sentence of 17 years. In his opinion, Justice Saunders considered first the issue of concurrent and consecutive sentences in the context of the Totality Principle, which requires the judge to give a sentence that reflects all the offending behaviour that is before the court. But this is subject to the notion that the total or overall sentence must be neither too harsh nor too lenient. It was noted that if the judge chose to give consecutive sentences, care needed to be taken to ensure that due regard was paid to the Totality Principle. The court accepted that there was no regard paid to the Totality Principle in this case. Nevertheless, in his conclusion, the CCJ President suggested that the practice of passing sentence immediately after a verdict comes in should generally be eschewed, especially in cases where there is a likelihood that a lengthy prison term may be imposed. In such cases, Justice Saunders opined, the judge should hold a separate sentencing hearing, at which mitigating and aggravating fac-
tors, including mental health or psychological assessments, can better be advanced and considered. The court also expressed the view that Guyana’s trial judges would be better served if they followed appropriate guidelines that suggest various sentencing ranges for the most prevalent crimes. Meanwhile, in separate concurring opinions, Justices Rajnauth-Lee and Jamadar focused on the alarming prevalence of sexual offences against children, and the robust approach that was required in respect of sentencing for such offences. However, Justices Wit and Anderson, in their joint dissenting opinion, considered that appellate courts are given wide powers to review sentences. As the cumulative 37 years in prison was excessive, the sentences imposed should be replaced by sentences that were warranted in all the circumstances of the case. These two judges considered that the sentences should accordingly be replaced with nine years for the second rape, six years for the first rape, and nine months for the sexual assault conviction; and also have ordered that these sentences run concurrently. Pompey was represented by Attorneys Nigel Hughes and Ronald Daniels, while the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack SC, appeared on behalf of the state, in association with Teshana Lake and Natasha Backer.
No new COVID-19 cases in 2 days …32 persons tested in the last 24-hours
A
fter continuous testing within the last two days, the Public Health Ministry on Thursday announced that no new cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) have been detected. During the daily COVID-19 briefing, Deputy Chief Medical Officer (DCMO), Dr Karen GordonBoyle stated that the number of confirmed cases of the deadly virus in the country remains at 113 – the same figure that was reported since Monday. An additional 32 persons were tested on Wednesday – all of whom returned negative results. To date, the Ministry has tested a total of 1050 persons, with 939 of them being negative. Though the COVID-19 deaths remain at 10, the number of persons who have recovered from the deadly virus has increased by one, bringing the total number of recovered patients to 42 as opposed to 41 on Wednesday. Dr Gordon-Boyle added that there were currently five persons in institutional quarantine and 61 in institutional isolation. The COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr Karen Gordon Boyle
at the Georgetown Public Hospital now has three patients. “We must reiterate that there is no approved treatment for COVID-19 (by the Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO)); however, clinical trials are being done at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation where the most severe cases are being treated,” she highlighted. Nevertheless, Dr GordonBoyle shared that the transmission of this virus could
only be reduced or stopped if authorities were able to separate those who tested positive from those who were not infected. In encouraging persons to come forward and get tested, the DCMO assured that the Government’s quarantine and isolation facilities are comfortable. “I am sure that some of you have fears about quarantining and isolation, but be assured that MoPH [Ministry of Public Health] has set up these facilities bearing in mind that you are away from home and so is trying to make you feel as comfortable as possible,” Dr Gordon-Boyle explained. According to the DCMO, the quarantine facilities are free of cost and provide each patient with three square meals per day which are prepared by a certified cook. A doctor and team are always on hand to care and monitor each patient twice daily, as well as conduct testing to determine if a patient suffers from underlying medical conditions. At these facilities, there are games, free internet connection, television and telephone to call family and
friends. Given that persons entering these facilities will have to adapt to a new lifestyle to protect themselves and others, the Ministry stated that psychosocial support sessions are also being done with patients. The Ministry is said to be partnering with two hotels to ensure that each patient has their own private space with amenities. With regard to isolation facilities, the conditions are the same, but if you are in critical condition and require ICU, you are not allowed to leave. To this end, it was announced that mobile testing units will be in La Parfait Harmonie on the West Bank of Demerara (WBD) and in South Ruimveldt over the weekend and the upcoming week. Additionally, residents of Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) along with Region Six (East Berbice- Corentyne) will have similar facilities including mobile testing. According to WHO, there are 4, 258, 666 confirmed cases globally with 294, 190 deaths of May 14. In the Region of the Americas, the number of cases is 1,819,55 with more than 106,504 deaths.
Attacking… B
…left, right and centre ack in the day, as Napoleon attempted to conquer Europe, he insisted on fighting on only one front at a time: that allowed him to maintain the critical mass needed to overwhelm his enemies singly. Of course, his fatal mistake was to invade Russia, and he became sucked in beyond his supply lines – and paid the price in the Russian winter. More than a hundred years later, Hitler didn’t just attack Russia (and outrun his supply lines), he decided to attack Britain and fight on two fronts! We know how that panned out, don’t we?? Well, while YOU obviously know the answer, dear reader, it does appear that all the military types with whom Granger surrounded himself to cling on to power believe they can go one up on Hitler on MULTIPLE fronts in battle!! A PNC top brass and company, who’s been put in charge of the operation codenamed “Eagle Eyes” (this is war, baby!!), have decided to attack simultaneously on three fronts: right, left and centre!! In the centre, the PNC always had their sights on the PPP – their major foe in this battle. They were pleased as a punch when they repelled the PPP’s probing of their soft underbelly (the AFC) with their NCM back in Dec 2018. But the PPP was able to gauge the mindset of the PNC in that manoeuvre, and was ready for a no-holds-barred campaign in the main theatre, called “Elections 2020”. Even though Brigadier David Granger had inexplicably neutered the PNC’s AFC ally, he still felt he could overwhelm the PPP in a frontal attack. He was confident his ex-military sappers could bring out the votes in his traditional constituency to overwhelm and overrun the PPP’s base, whom he figured had been depleted by emigration. It was a miscalculation that he realised too late – and was forced to pull the Mingo stunt at Ashmin’s!! And this was his fatal mistake. He did the dirty so openly that he didn’t give any of the overseas observers – and the ambassadors – even a fig leaf of deniability to go along with him. They were forced to call him out; and now we have the recount. But rather than withdrawing and try to regroup like Napoleon, Granger and Harmon decided to also attack on the two new fronts that had now opened up: the US and the OAS on their left and right flanks. They’ve openly accused the US Ambassador of being paid off by Mercury; and now they’ve accused the Head of the OAS team, ex-Jamaica PM Golding, of being corrupted by Jagdeo!! Wow!! All that’s left is the fourth front, called CariCom. Watch out, Mottley!! The Kamikaze brigade is coming!! ...with AFC dummies It does look like Nagamootoo and Ramjattan have been banished by General Granger to the doghouse in the present recount battle. Nagamootoo always figured himself as a “talk man”, but he’s nowhere to be seen in front of the ACCC, to put a spin on the daily skirmishes. His sin? How dare he say that the IFIs might be holding up COVID relief because of the “political” contretemps?? But one would’ve thought that Ramjattan would now have been deployed, after the horrible snafus his AFC’s Lenno Craig and David Patterson have been committing. No Goebbels, them!! One suffering from verbal diarrhoea full of inanities and faux pas; the other struck dumb!! They gotta go!! At least Ramjattan was kinda creative with the story of Russian operatives hacking our elections, on his last (and only) outing!! So who’s left? Well, the fella who’s been in charge of the propaganda machinery over at the DPI for the last five years!! Isn’t it time he serves on the front line?? After all, Nagamootoo doesn’t need a shill in the doghouse!! …with blanks AFC’s Patterson insists Mingo’s submitted figures match the APNU/AFC’s SOPs; and as, Granger should be sworn in. But since the recount’s proven Mingo’s figures were inflated for APNU/AFC, doesn’t that mean their SOPs are also inflated?? Terminal stupidity!! Readers are invited to send their comments by email to eye@guyanatimesgy.com
