A teacher whose lawyer said he “stepped out of character” when he assaulted his wife and breached a court order has been spared an immediate prison sentence.
Instead, Alwin Woods, 43, was bonded, fined and ordered to pay compensation for offences.
Woods was charged that on Jan. 10, at O’Brien’s Valley, he assaulted Sheril-Ann Durrant-Woods, of the same address, occasioning actual bodily harm.
He was also charged that on Jan. 10, at O’Briens Valley, he willfully disobeyed court order FC 108/22 made by the President of the Family Court, Colleen McDonald on Nov. 23, 2022.
Mitigating on his client’s behalf recently, lawyer Israel Bruce told the Colonarie Magistrate’s Court sitting at Georgetown that Woods has contributed most of his life to educating children and was a virgin to the law.
He said Woods “stepped out of his character, if I may put it that way, and acted as he should not have acted”.
Bruce asked the court to impose a sentence that would cause Woods to reflect, adding that a fine or bond was applicable and further suggested that Woods benefit from a programme that deals with marriage counselling or managing emotions.
“It pains me to deal with this matter but I am happy it has come to an end,” Bruce told the court.
Like Bruce, the prosecutor, Corporal of Police Delando Charles, did not recommend a custodial sentence.
He, however, said the prevalence of domestic violence is a great concern in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Charles said Woods has now become a “statistic” and would be labelled as a domestic abuser.
The prosecutor said a strong message must be sent to society but suggested a fine, and compensation for “emotional and physical damages…
“I am going to put the keys to the future in his hands,” Charles said.
He told the court that Woods had not set a proper example for his students and urged him to get back on track for himself and his son.
For the assault charge, Magistrate Kaywana Jacobs ordered Woods to pay compensation of EC$800 in four months or spend three months in prison.
He was also bonded for six months in the sum of EC$600. If he breaches the bond, Woods must pay the sum forthwith or spend six months in prison.
On the breach of court order charge, the magistrate said her main concern was deterrence.
She fined Woods EC$600 to be paid in two months or two months in prison.
She also bonded him for a year in the sum of $1,000 or six months imprisonment.
“Hope that you see the error of your ways and remain out of the ambits of the court,” the magistrate told Woods.
I am sick and tired of the slogan being a virgin of the law. I used the term because it has now so repetitive to the extent that it has become a slogan ,boring and dated even annoying. The lawyers should be reminded that penalty must fit the crime. The law must not only be done but must be seen to be done as echoed in Regina v Sussex.
The recent case in which person who was found guilty of having committed a crime of murder in the first degree byb executing the Cuban nurse on the St Martin’s high school property comesvto my attention.
The lawyer who claims to be a doctor of laws was mediocre in his defense and stated that he was surprised that his client was found guilty of murder. The level of hippocricy was deafting to the ear. To date the public has not seen any evidence of an appeal to the highest court.
My observation is that there is a disequilibrium between the demand and supply for legal services in St Vincent and the Grenadines. This imbalance has created a situation where even lawyers who are themselves mediocre strive in the profession.
That is why there should be a situation of buyers beware. The legal profession has become dishonored in Sr Vincent, given that there is no barriers to entry intob the profession. The profession hardly seems to be self regulating and will self-destruct as a profession in SVG.