‘From death to life’

Dec 23, 2022 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News

…Court of Appeal commutes death sentences of ex- soldiers who killed gold miner to life imprisonment

Kaieteur News – The Court of Appeal (CoA) of Guyana on Wednesday upheld the murder convictions of Devon Gordon, Sherwyn Harte, and Deon Greenidge, commuted their death sentences to life sentences, but found that Guyana’s death penalty provisions are in conformity with the modern approach.

The three men were charged with the gruesome murder of Dweive Kant Ramdass in 2009, and were convicted, and sentenced to death in 2013.

Importantly, the men, on certain grounds, filed a Notice of Appeal on 12th July 2013, but then filed additional grounds of appeal on 28th November. The additional grounds of appeal raised the issue of the constitutionality of the death penalty, which were not raised during the men’s trial before the High Court.

From (L-R): Dead: Dwieve Kant Ramdass and (murder convicts) Devon Gordon, Deon Greenidge, and Sherwyn Harte

In submissions to the CoA, Latchmie Rahamat, Attorney-at-Law for Devon Gordon, argued that the mandatory death penalty was unconstitutional. On page 1 of her substantive submissions, Ms. Rahamat argued that “the mandatory sentence of death in Guyana violates and offends the Appellants’ constitutional protection against inhuman and degrading punishment or other treatment that is guaranteed under Article 141 of the Constitution of Guyana.”

Douglas Mendes SC, of Trinidad and Tobago, and Nigel Hughes, Attorneys-at-Law for Deon Greenidge and Sherwin Hart, in their substantive submissions, argued that the death penalty, whether mandatory or discretionary, is unconstitutional.

In their submissions, the duo noted that “This is the first challenge to the constitutionality of the death penalty in the Commonwealth Caribbean”, and further they said that “It is the Appellants’ case that the death sentence violates certain Articles and core principles of the Constitution of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana…”

Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, SC made an application to intervene in this matter, and filed submissions in support of the Government of Guyana’s case. The Attorney General’s submissions, in essence, were two-fold:

The issue of the constitutionality of the death sentence cannot be raised for the first time in the CoA since the High Court, by virtue of Article 153 (2) of the Constitution of Guyana, has original jurisdiction to determine all questions as to the contravention of provisions of Articles 138-151.

The AG’s team noted further that a comprehensive reading of all of the relevant provisions of the Constitution of Guyana clearly demonstrate that death sentences under an order of a court of competent jurisdiction, are expressly provided for in the Constitution of Guyana.

The three ex-Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard ranks charged with the August 2009 murder of Bartica gold miner, Dwieve Kant Ramdass, were yesterday all found guilty and sentenced to death by Justice Franklyn Holder.

The Judge had earlier summed up the case and the 12-member jury returned later in the afternoon with a unanimous verdict after a little more than half an hour of deliberations.

They were found guilty of the murder which occurred on August 20, 2009 at Caiman Hole in the Essequibo River. The Prosecution’s case was that the men forced Ramdass into their boat and took him to the aforementioned location where they relieved him of $17M in cash he was carrying in a box to Bartica for his employer, before dumping him overboard. Senior State Prosecutor, Judith Gildharie-Mursalin, presented the case, while Attorney- at- Law, Latchmie Rahamat represented the three accused.