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Youth gets 23 years for Tiger Bay killing
After admitting that he fatally stabbed a man, 22-year-old Christopher Stanley was yesterday sentenced to serve a term of imprisonment of 23 years and seven months by Justice Sandil Kissoon. He stands no possibility of being released on parole.
A remorseful Stanley appeared at the High Court in Georgetown where he was indicted on a murder charge.
That charge had stated that on August 29, 2015, at Lot 910 Rosemary Lane, South Cummingsburg, Georgetown, also known as Tiger Bay, he murdered Owen Browne, called ‘Rasta Man’.
Browne was 44 years of age at the time of his demise. He was killed a day after celebrating his 44th birthday.
Stanley opted to plead guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter and was given the over two-decade jail term.
According to State Prosecutor Abigail Gibbs, on the day in question, at Lot 910 Rosemary Lane, South Cummingsburg, Georgetown, also known as Tiger Bay, Stanley was seen stabbing Browne. After committing the act, Stanley escaped but was later apprehended by police.
The prosecutor pointed out that at the time of the incident, Stanley was the only person armed with a weapon.
A post mortem examination performed on Browne revealed that he sustained 21 stab wounds. His cause of death was given as shock and haemorrhage due to multiple incise wounds.
Stanley, who appeared lost while seated in the prisoners’ dock, offered an apology to the family of the deceased. Questioned by Justice Sandil Kissoon as to whether he had anything to say in relation to the facts presented by the prosecution, Stanley told the court that he stabbed Browne because the man attempted to sodomize him.
During a plea of mitigation, McKay asked the court to temper justice with mercy. The lawyer asked the court to take into consideration that his client pleaded guilty at the first opportunity, and had shown remorse for his actions.
According to the lawyer, Stanley dropped out of school in Grade 8.
Responding to the lawyer’s submission was State Prosecutor Mandel Moore who highlighted that Stanley intended to kill Browne given the amount of stab wounds he inflicted.
As it relates to sentencing, Justice Kissoon pointed out that Stanley committed the act when he was just 19 years old, and that it was unfortunate that he is before the court for an offence of such nature. The judge however stated that the court cannot turn a blind eye on the fact that Browne’s life was ruthlessly snuffed away.
The Judge disclosed that based on the evidence, Browne attempted to defend himself since, according to the post mortem report, he had several defensive wounds on his hands, and others to his lungs and heart.
In arriving at a sentence for Stanley, Justice Kissoon started at a base of 25 years.
He then made a few other deductions for an early guilty plea, among other things.
After doing this, the sentence ended up at 13 years and seven months. The Judge however added on 10 years after considering the aggravating factors.
This brought the total sentence to 23 years and seven months.
The dead man’s sister, Urtelece Browne said she was pleased with the sentencing and had already forgiven Stanley.
She said that as a result of going to church over the years, she has learnt to forgive.
“I feel pity for him. He was so young when he committed the act. I heard he was under the influence of drugs when he committed the act. He was not in his right senses. All of that I took into consideration and I decided to forgive him”, Browne told reporters.
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