Latest update March 8th, 2025 6:36 AM
Appeal Court commences hearing challenge to 62-year jail sentence for Linden man
Convicted: Abdul Budhoo.
Kaieteur -Attorney Mark Conway has asked the Appeal Court for time to amend the grounds of appeal in relation to the case of Abdul Budhoo. Budhoo is currently serving a 62-year sentence for the unlawful killing of the two brothers, his cousins, from Mackenzie, Linden, Shaheed and Imran Bacchus.
In 2017, he was convicted and sentenced by Justice Navindra Singh on a count of manslaughter and murder for the siblings. Conway had initially challenged the sentence based on claims that the trial Judge erred on a number of pertinent issues leading up to the verdict of his client’s trial in the High Court.
However, yesterday at the commencement of the hearing, he told the court that he wished to amend the grounds of his challenge to include the conviction since he believes that there is a strong likelihood that the guilty verdict will be overturned. Following his initial presentation on the issue before the Appeal Court, Conway was granted leave until November 16, to provide submissions on the issue.
In the initial appeal, the attorney contends, among other things, that the trial judge erred in law in the direction he gave to the jury as regards the issue of provocation – an element to consider in finding someone guilty for manslaughter.
Murdered: Brothers Shaheed and Imran Bacchus.
As it relates to the severity of sentence for the offences, he also claimed that the trial judge erred in law by failing to apply case law principles that promote fairness in sentencing.
He noted that the sentencing guidelines council states that a number of elements had to be considered and balanced by the sentence such as the degree of the provocation; the extent and timing of the retaliation; the circumstances of the killing; the relationship between the offender and the victim; the behaviour of the offender after the killing; the type of weapon used and whether it had been to hand or had been carried to the scene.
Budhoo was sentenced to serve 62 years in prison for the unlawful killing of two brothers, which occurred at Mackenzie, Linden, in September 2012. Reports indicated that the brothers were murdered as a result of a dispute over money at Wismar Street, Mackenzie, on September 30, 2012.
On the day of the incident, an argument over outstanding monies had ensued between Budhoo and Shaheed Bacchus, when Shaheed’s brother, Imran intervened. Both brothers were fatally stabbed.
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