October session of the Demerara Criminal assizes set for opening on Tuesday

Oct 06, 2014 News

The Demerara October Criminal Assizes will commence on Tuesday 7 October, 2014 with a total of 226 cases listed to be heard before Justices Navindra Singh, Brassington Reynolds and Dawn Gregory.
A few cases have been brought forward from the June Assizes which ended recently.
During the last session, a total of 242 cases were listed to be heard but only 49 matters were disposed of.
As usual, a formal parade will be held outside the Supreme Court to mark the occasion.
Meanwhile, the Berbice Criminal Assizes is expected to open on 21 October with 52 cases listed for trial before Justice James Bovell-Drakes, while the Essequibo Criminal Assizes is schedule to start on October 28 with Justice Franklyn Holder expected to hear 19 cases.
During the period May to June, Justice Holder sat at the Essequibo Criminal Assizes. Four matters received attention before him; these matters were for the offences of Manslaughter, Incest and Rape, Attempt to Commit Murder, Wounding with Intent and Buggery.
In two separate matters for the offences of Manslaughter and Buggery, there was a trial.
In the matter for the offence of Manslaughter, the jury returned a not guilty verdict while the jury in the matter for Buggery returned a guilty verdict and the accused was sentenced to nine years imprisonment.
In the other two matters, the Judge directed the jury to return formal not guilty verdicts because the complainants did not attend court to testify.
During the same period, three other matters for the offences of Murder, Manslaughter and Indecent Assault were also declared nolle prosequi by the Director of Public Prosecution. The accused had died. In the other two cases, the Virtual Complainant, (VC) did not wish to proceed.
The Berbice Criminal Assizes commenced June 10 last with Justice Brassington Reynolds. Reynolds sat for the month of June and Justice Navindra Singh continued the Assizes from July to September. Singh did not sit for the month of August, since he was on leave.
During this period, six matters were disposed of by the Judges; one by Justice Reynolds during the month of June and the other five by Justice Navindra Singh. Justice Reynolds commenced a trial for Murder but it was aborted after the defence alleged that a juror was seen speaking with a witness.
Meanwhile, of the five matters disposed of by Justice Singh, three were for the offence of Murder, one for the offence of Carnal Knowledge of a Girl under 15 years and one other for the offence of Sexual Activity with a Child Family Member.
In two murder cases, retrials were ordered for the accused because the jury failed to reach a verdict. In a third murder matter the accused was found guilty and was sentenced to fifty five and a half years imprisonment after the jury returned with a unanimous guilty verdict. In the matter for the offence of Carnal Knowledge of a Girl under 15 years, the accused was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment after the jury returned with a unanimous guilty verdict. The accused in the matter for the offence of Sexual Activity with a Child Family Member was acquitted after the VC testified before the Jury that she did not wish to proceed with the matter and Justice Singh directed the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty.
During the same period one matter for the offence of Carnal Knowledge of a Girl between 15 and 16 years was declared nolle prosequi by the DPP because the VC indicated that she no longer wanted to proceed with the matter.

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October session of the Demerara Criminal assizes set for opening on Tuesday

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