A High Court judge has cited a calypso about the dangers of rum as he sentenced a 38-year-old Sandy Bay man to prison time for slashing another villager’s abdomen, causing his intestines to protrude.
“He ended, ‘As far as I can see, conclusively, rum was not made for a man like me’,” Justice Rickie Burnett said, quoting Sun Blaze’s song.
Justice Burnett ordered the defendant, Uzziah Francis, to undergo two years of counselling on alcohol abuse to the extent such is available at the prison.
Francis cried openly after the sentence was handed down on him at High Court No. 2 on Jan. 27 and as he interacted with relatives before being led back to prison.
On April 9, 2024, Francis was arraigned and pleaded guilty with a cause to a charge of wounding with intent.
However, after the judge heard his explanation, he decided that the matter should be put to a jury.
The trial commenced on Oct. 31, 2024, and on Nov. 13, a nine-member jury found him guilty.
Francis did not have a lawyer and the court-appointed counsel Grant Connell to represent Francis on a particular matter but Connell represented him for the entire trial and sentencing.
The facts of the case are that on Dec. 3, 2022, about 9 a.m., Clarence Lavia, the virtual complainant (VC), went to a shop in Sandy Bay and bought items, including rum.
Francis, who had also bought rum nearby, sat on a wall opposite the shop.
An argument broke out between the two men and to avoid the altercation continuing, Lavia walked past Francis to head home.
On doing so, he noticed Francis holding a pen knife. Francis began to follow Lavia, prompting him to go into his neighbour, Samika Burnett’s yard.
Lavia picked up a stone to defend himself but despite Burnett’s warning, Francis climbed into the yard and attacked Lavia.
Lavia’s sister intervened by grabbing Francis’ hand, but he continued trying to stab Lavia.
During the scuffle, Francis moved away and Lavia’s sister and cousin noticed his intestines protruding from a wound to his abdomen.
Lavia was rushed to the hospital where he underwent emergency surgery and was hospitalised for 10 days.
The injuries included a stab to the abdomen, which had no active bleeding even as his intestines protruded from it.
Francis reported the matter to the police in Sandy Bay, admitting to stabbing Lavia but said it was in self-defence.
He led police to where he had thrown the knife, but it was not recovered.
On Dec. 5, 2022, Francis gave a caution statement in which he reiterated his claim of self-defence.
However, police charged him with wounding with intent and the jury found him guilty.
A pre-sentence report was prepared by a social worker in the Ministry of National Mobilisation.
The report said that Francis has an 8-year-old daughter and had been employed as a farmer but was dismissed because of the charge.
However, he later gained employment as a construction labourer.
He lives with his parents and drinks alcohol and smokes cigarettes and marijuana.
Francis told the social worker he did not intend to injure Lavia seriously and expressed remorse for his action.
The report found mixed reactions from the community, with some members saying Francis was respectful and mannerly while others said he was violent and interfered with people when he drank.
In the victim impact report, Lavia said that close to two years after the incident, he has trust issues with people and sleeps with his eyes closed but his ears open.
He said he still recalls seeing his intestines and holding them to prevent them from coming out of his body.
Justice Burnett established a starting point of 60% of the maximum of 30 years imprisonment — or 18 years.
Aggravating of offence was Francis’ attempts to conceal or dispose of the weapon, the judge said, noting that he took police to retrieve the knife but it was not recovered.
The court also noted that the offence took place in a public place, in the view of others and while Francis was under the influence of alcohol.
Mitigating of the offence was the lack of premedication, the judge said, adding that there was excessive and, therefore, not lawful self-defence.
He made no adjustments to the sentence at that point.
Meanwhile, the court held that there were no aggravating features of the offender and mitigating was his good character and the assistance he gave to police.
The judge pointed out that the defence suggested that Francis had expressed remorse.
He said that while one could be tempted to come to that, police in Sandy Bay told the social workers that while awaiting sentence, Francis had told someone, “You know who I be? I cut out a man belly.”
The judge held that the mitigating features of the offence outweighed the aggravating and reduced the sentence by three years.
He also awarded Francis the full one-third discount he would have received had the court accepted his guilty plea, saying that it was the fair thing to do.
The judge noted that Lavia had said that he was willing to accept EC$20,000 in compensation.
He, however, said that the defence did not indicate Francis’s ability to pay compensation.
The judge noted that Francis had been a labourer for the preceding two years and the court took judicial notice that a labourer may earn EC$50 a day.
Further, the pre-sentencing report said Francis was the sole breadwinner in his house and was responsible for his daughter whose mother has mental challenges.
“Though he might be able to provide compensation over some time, as he is suggesting, from the means available and evidence before the court, despite his good intention, awarding compensation without the defendant having the means to do so would not be fair in the circumstances,” the judge said.
The court also rejected the defence submission that Francis’ sentence be suspended.
“It is clear that the defendant is … an abuser of both marijuana and alcohol which impedes his ability to resolve conflict,” the judge said.
He added that Lavia had said that Francis had not shown any remorse for his actions.
The judge said he was of the view that the offence should attract an immediate sentence.
The two months and seven days that Francis spent on remand was subtracted from the sentence, leaving him a further nine years, nine months and 24 days in prison.
After the sentencing, Connell objected to the comments by the police in Sandy Bay being accepted by the court in the absence of an affidavit.
The judge said it was in the social report and the VC himself also showed his view about whether the defendant had shown remorse.
The judge said he had evaluated what was said by the police, the VC, and social workers.
Connel suggested that in the future the police make such statements on oath.
Before handing down the sentence, the judge noted that the court had asked Connell to assist as the prosecution was trying to trigger a particular criminal procedure.
Connell decided to assist and went on record as counsel, Justice Burnett said, adding that the lawyer’s assistance took him as far as Sandy Bay and he also provided sentencing submissions on Francis’ behalf.
“It is my view that the effort of counsel should be an example and the standard that lawyers should display in the criminal justice system,” Justice Burnett said.