Murder accused Andrew Albert was last evening sentenced to 25 years in prison by Justice Navindra Singh after a 12-member jury convicted him on the lesser count of manslaughter.
The indictment against him was that on August 10th, 2010, at Uitvlugt, West Coast Demerara, he murdered 43-year-old Nandalall Bopat. The prosecution’s case was that Albert, who was armed with a knife, dealt Bopat several fatal stabs about his body.
Albert had denied the charge and, in leading his defence in unsworn testimony, said that he was defending himself during the fatal encounter.
Justice Singh started the sentence at 30 years but subtracted five years for the time Albert has spent behind bars awaiting trial.
With the jury having convicted Albert on the lesser count of manslaughter, the judge opined that they must have been satisfied that there was some degree of provocation on the part of the deceased.
Recalling the death certificate, which indicated that the deceased sustained 14 incised wounds, Justice Singh noted that he would usually add years for the brutality of the crime.
He advanced that the infliction of injuries to that extent was “an excessive reaction” on the part of Albert. The judge, however, reasoned that one cannot precisely determine what should be considered an