Killers see minimum terms cut (Update)

Two convicted murderers today saw the minimum terms they must serve in prison before they can be considered for release slashed – one by more than half.

David Cox, 34 of the 42 gang and Antonio Myers, 28 of the Middletown gang were both jailed for life in 2011 and ordered to spend a minimum of 38 years behind bars before they could be considered for release by the parole board.

Cox was convicted of the premeditated murder of Raymond “Yankee” Rawlins in August 2010 and Myers was found guilty of the murder of Kumi Harford in December 2009.

Today, Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves reduced the minimum term Cox had to serve before he could be considered for release to 25 years. While the minimum term Myers must serve in prison before he can be considered for release was set at 15 years.

The move follows a decision by the Privy Council in the cases of Jermaine Pearman and Ze Selassie last year.

Delivering his judgement in Cox, Mr Greaves said; “In the present case, counsel have been heard for and against the defendant.

“Some of the arguments are as identical as before. I have been urged on his behalf that a minimum period of between 15 and 21 years should be imposed and against him that a maximum of 25 years should be imposed.

“I have given new and due consideration to these arguments and to the particular facts of this case.

“I am not persuaded by counsel for the defendant that a minimum below 25 years is appropriate for a case of this class.”

Mr Greaves said the maximum minimum for premeditated murder is 25 years in Bermuda.

“It is my view that in cases as seriously aggravating as the present case, a court ought to be careful about tinkering within a minimum below on the basis that one of this class is a little worse or a little less so than another when in reality they are all so bad.

“Although each case is to be judged on its merits, it is difficult to see how a case of this class of aggravation and without any exceptional mitigating circumstances could expect to fall below the maximum minimum.”

During his trial, the jury heard how Cox gunned down Mr Rawlins with another gunman at the Spinning Wheel Nightclub in the early hours of August 9, 2010.

Delivering his judgment in Myers, Mr Greaves said: “I have been urged on his behalf that a minimum period of 12 years should be imposed and against him that the maximum minimum of 15 years should be imposed.

“I am not persuaded by counsel for the defendant that a minimum below 15 years is appropriate for this class of case.”

The maximum minimum for murder under Bermuda law is 15 years and Mr Greaves ordered Myers must serve a minimum of 15 years before he is eligible for parole.

During his trial, the jury heard how Mr Harford was gunned down in the early hours of December 5, 2009 as he sat in his car on St Monica’s Road.

Forensic evidence showed there were at least two firearms used to kill Mr Harford.

The Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, the Hon. Mark Pettingill JP MP, issued the following statement regarding today’s Supreme Court sentence reductions after a ruling by the Privy Council in London.

“As a result of the ruling from the Privy Council decision in November which stated that the laws in Bermuda do not allow a minimum sentence over 25 years for premeditated murder and 15 years for murder, essentially reducing sentences for convicted felons, the Government has worked quickly to review and draft changes to the law which is expected be tabled in the House of Assembly in February.

We are aware of public sentiment regarding the recent number of cases coming before the court relating to reduced sentences. Technically, we had to wait for the Privy Council decision in November before being able to review the law. I want to make it absolutely clear that just because a convicted person is eligible for parole certainly does not mean they will receive it, so the worst offenders may well expect to serve the majority of their sentences.

The proposed amendments to the relevant pieces of legislation will preserve a sentence of life imprisonment, but allow a sentencing judge to order the amount of time that he deems appropriate that a convicted murderer would be incarcerated for, before being eligible for parole.  In doing so he would have regard to the circumstances of the commission of the offence and the character and circumstances of the offender.

As stated by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr. Rory Field in October, 2013, “all convicted murderers are sentenced to life imprisonment and that has not changed. A sentence of life imprisonment means that even when an offender is released, the offender is released on licence subject to that life sentence and may be recalled to prison on the licence. The life sentence hangs over the offenders head until the offender dies.

The Privy Council appeal in the cases of Ze Selassie and Jermaine Pearman dealt with it when an offender should first become eligible for release on licence.

That does not mean the offender would automatically be released on the first possible date, since the release is subject to the Parole Board. That is the way the Privy Council have interpreted the current legislation. The immediate result is that the date of eligibility for release on licence has been reduced for the two appellants.

There is no automatic release after 15 or 25 years imprisonment.  Release is dependent upon the decision of the Parole Board, based on several factors. It may be that release on licence does not in fact occur for many years after the first date of eligibility. This would be particularly appropriate if the offender is deemed a serious danger to the public.”