William Light, who was charged with the murder of two people after a chopping rampage on Russell Street in 2010 was yesterday sentenced to 47 years in prison by Justice Navindra Singh in the High Court.
Light had pleaded guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter in February, in the deaths of Cedric Blackman and Ann Cham-A-Koon on October 26, 2010.
A probation report, which was ordered by the court last month and read yesterday, stated that Light was a victim of mental illness and had been incarcerated several times in the psychiatric ward of the Georgetown Public Hospital.
The report, which was read by a probation officer, indicated that Light would “trip out” when he did not get his way.
The report also stated that Light was isolated in prison because of his psychological problems.
Attorney Bettina Glasford, representing Light in association with Attorneys Maxwell McKay and Brendon Glasford, asked the court to consider the mitigating factors: that Light had acknowledged his wrongdoing and pleaded guilty to manslaughter saving the court the time of going through a trial.
She also said he had shown regret for the injuries he had caused and therefore urged the court to revisit his confession statement, paying due attention also to the probation report.
Prosecutor Dhanika Singh, however, stated that the act was unprovoked and two lives were lost. She said that from reports Blackman was always kind to the accused and had assisted him in whatever way he could. She added that two other persons were maimed during his attack.
When asked by Justice Singh if he had anything to say, a fairly calm Light stood up and told the court that he was sorry for what happened and begged the relatives to forgive him.
Justice Singh sentenced him to 21 years in prison for killing Cham-A-Koon and 26 years for killing Blackman. He received extra years for the death of Blackman because he was related
to him and also because Blackman had been kind to him.
Light was also accused of unlawfully wounding Radesh Persaud and Shawn DeSouza on the day in question with intent to commit murder.
