The mother of a man convicted of shooting another man has asked the court for leniency for her son, saying he is her “only help”.
Kerine Isaacs’ son Ronald Isaacs aka John Small called her as a character witness on his behalf at High Court No. 1, in Kingstown, on Friday.
On July 18, a nine-member jury found Small guilty of charges that on Feb. 24, 2022, he used the firearm to wound Philroy Matthews with intent and that he had a firearm in his possession with intent to injure.
Justice Brian Cottle was slated to sentence Small on Friday.
In mitigation, the 43-year-old father of six children, the youngest of which is 7, said that he does not interfere with or hit women.
He said he does not like to see women being mistreated and he stops people whenever he would see them doing so.
“I’m not saying I’m a perfect man but sometimes I get pushed and I push back and sometimes I am wrong when I push back,” Isaacs told the court.
He said he is not the kind of person who gets into trouble.
“I’m an honest man,” Isaacs further stated, adding that he has a shop and a property that he rents.
Isaacs told the court that his mother was outside and he wanted her to testify on his behalf.
When Kerene Isaacs took the stand, she told the court that the defendant “is a good son to me.
“He is the only one who helps me up at the Botanical Gardens. I have another son who died. I have a daughter who is not well. She went to Cuba to do surgery on her throat. She can’t work; she has a breathing problem,” the mother told the court.
She asked the judge to give her son a reduced sentence. “I am begging you, please. I don’t have no one else to help me and I don’t work.”
Kerene Isaacs told the court that she gets a pension of EC$140 every fortnight.
“I still owe the bank because my house did burn. Sometimes, they will take all. Sometimes, if I don’t go early, they would take all. He is my only help. So I am begging you for mercy. He is my only help.”
Meanwhile, the defendant told the court that he gives his mother “something” every month from the house rent and if he picks up anything through the week.
Isaacs said he also gives something to his sister, who is ill.
After hearing the mitigation, the judge told Isaacs that he would consider what he and his mother had said and hand down his sentence on Monday.
……….This is a job for the PM.