Wife killer appeals 83-year sentence

Jan 01, 2019 News

Arguing that Justice Navindra Singh should have recused himself from the trial, convicted wife killer Michael Persaud, 28, also known as ‘Mikey’, has appealed an 83-year sentence imposed on him.
In November 2014, Persaud was found guilty by a jury of killing his reputed wife, Maduri Padumdeo, called ‘Sharda’, at their Lot 8 North Sophia, Bel Air, Greater Georgetown residence on December 23, 2011.
Padumdeo, who was 19, and a cane juice vendor, was discovered naked and dead with a piece of cable tied tightly around her neck in their home. Persaud was present at the time the discovery was made; he was found lying in the bed next to her corpse.
A post mortem examination conducted on the body of the victim revealed that she died of ligature strangulation. Persaud was later charged for the offence. Persaud, through his Attorney-at-Law, Glenn Hanoman, has filed an appeal against the sentence and conviction.
In grounds of appeal, the convict argues that Justice Singh failed to recuse himself from the trial after there was an interaction between his wife and the grandmother of the appellant (Persaud) which resulted in the judge directing that the grandmother be detained for approximately five hours without conducting a proper inquiry.
He also argues that there was a material irregularity which resulted in a substantial miscarriage of justice when Justice Singh permitted persons wearing large buttons with the face of the deceased (Padumdeo) to be present in court in view of the juror during the summing up and verdict.

Michael Persaud

And further, “The Learned Trial Judge erred in law when he refused to accede to the request of the appellant (Persaud) for a sufficiently long adjournment to ensure the attendance of a legal representative of his own choice and erred by personally and unilaterally appointing and assigning counsel without the consent of the appellant.”
According to Persaud, the mathematical formula utilized by the Judge in passing sentence is without legal basis. He failed to take into account established sentencing guidelines and passed a sentence that was inconsistent with the current guidelines.
“The sentence was too severe in all the circumstances of the case. The Learned Trial Judge failed to explore the possibility of ordering probation report and to take other relevant factors into consideration.”
Chancellor of the Judiciary Yonette Cummings-Edwards and two other appellate judges are scheduled to hand down a ruling early this year.
At the announcement of the verdict, Persaud had pleaded his innocence. “Your honour I am innocent of this crime. While leading his defence, Persaud had told the court that he had no knowledge of the crime. He had said that he loved his wife and would never kill her. Persaud claimed that he was sodomised by his boss “Kaley” who was also in a relationship with his reputed wife.
However, the State Prosecutor told the court, “Another young woman has tragically lost her life at the hands of a man; a man who said that he loved her and was supposed to protect her. In today‘s edition (November 26, 2014) of the newspapers it is stated that 10 women have been killed at the hands of their partners this year. The court needs to send a strong message that this will not be condoned.”
Before handing down sentence, the Judge had told Persaud that he deprived his child of both parents and has shown no remorse for his actions. Persaud’s original sentence stood at 60 years; 10 years was added for the evidence of premeditation, another 10 years was added for the cruel manner in which the victim met her demise and six years was added since it was a domestic violence related crime.
However, the judge deducted three years from the sentence for the time Persaud had spent in the prison pending trial, hence the 83-year jail term.

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