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Child killer wants Appeal Court to reduce life sentence
The Court of Appeal in Kingston is hearing arguments in relation to the matter involving Linden’s Rawle Samuels, who is currently serving a life sentence for the unlawful killing of a four-year-old boy.
Samuels, of Buck Hill, Wismar, Linden was originally indicted for the murder of Jamal Naranjan Nedd.
The facts of the case stated that the nursery school child was brutally stabbed repeatedly about the body by his mother’s paramour (Samuels).
The incident occurred on February 6, 2013 at Buck Hill, Wismar, Linden. The child, Nedd, had reportedly just returned home from school when he came under attack from the man, with whom his mother shared a relationship.
The police only arrived at the scene after the child was viciously stabbed, and Samuels had made good his escape. The child’s intestines protruded from the incision in his abdomen.
He was rushed to the Linden Hospital Complex where he died shortly after. The perpetrator was apprehended later and charged with murder.
Sentenced to life: Rawle Samuels
Samuels had however pleaded guilty to the lesser crime of manslaughter when his case was presented for trial at the Georgetown High Court before Justice Nareshwar Harnanan, last year.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment for the unlawful killing of a four-year-old boy. At the time of sentencing, the Court determined that Samuels will only be eligible for parole after serving 30 years behind bars.
Viewing the sentence as too harsh a penalty, Samuels moved to the Court of Appeal seeking a reduction of the judge’s decision.
The matter came up for hearing at the Appellate Court, yesterday. Attorney-at-law Stanley Moore presented arguments on behalf of Samuels, while Attorney-at-law, Natasha Backer, represented the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions, (DPP).
By the end of the arguments by the Attorneys, the Court determined that notices will be sent out on the date for a decision.
During her presentation, Backer argued that the Court found no mitigating circumstances as it regards the offence of manslaughter, the trial judge started at the very top.
Backer noted that there were only aggravating circumstances in this case.
Moore told the panel of Chancellor Yonette Cummings-Edwards, Justice Rafiq Khan and Justice Arif Bulkan that a more suitable sentence would have been 20 years in prison.
The lawyer emphasized that given the fact that his client was sentenced to life is excessive.
Last July, Samuels was jailed for life following the presentation of a probation report.
The probation report outlined that Samuels had a history of violence and had been charged before for fracturing the jaw of the mother of his children after hitting her in the face with a hatchet. The report also mentioned instances of alcohol and drug use.
According to the information, Samuels is said to have also shared an abusive relationship with the mother of the four-year-old, with whom he later formed a common law relationship.
On one occasion, he used an electric iron to burn the woman after she refused to iron his clothes. Samuels reportedly killed the four-year-old in retaliation to his mother indicating that she no longer wanted any relationship with him.
The report further outlined that Samuels acknowledged that his action led to the death of the child and that he wished to be forgiven.
He also expressed anger over the stigma attached to his name.
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