Mark Royden Williams, called `Smallie,’ and Dennis Williams, called `Anaconda,’ were last night sentenced to death after being convicted on seven of the twelve counts of murder in the February 17, 2008 Bartica massacre.
They were convicted on the lesser count of manslaughter for the other killings.
Trial Judge, Justice Roxane George SC, read the death penalty to the convicts, at some minutes past 11 last night.
Meanwhile, former co-accused, Roger Simon, called “Goat Man,” was acquitted on all 12 counts of murder, and was also found not guilty on the lesser offence of manslaughter.
Senior State Counsel, Diana Kaulesar, gave notice that Simon’s acquittal would be appealed.
Defence attorney Peter Hugh, who represented Simon, requested bail pending the appeal, which Justice George said will be dealt with this afternoon at 1:30, after she would have reviewed the relevant Act.
Simon remains imprisoned, on a terrorism indictment which also flows from events from the Bartica massacre. Arising from this said event, he was however granted $100,000 bail each on three counts of break and enter and larceny charges, and one count of unlawful wounding.
Kaulesar objected to bail for these charges, citing that the charges all derived from the same matter. Theses objections were however overruled by the judge.
For the manslaughter charges, on which the two Williams were convicted, Justice George announced that sentence will be passed this afternoon at 1:30 as well.
Simon, who stood with his hands clasped, was visibly relieved, as the foreman announced 12 times, that he was found not guilty of each of the 12 counts of murder.
He exited the courtroom to scores of his cheering relatives, who could not contain their joy over his acquittal.
The same, could however not be said for Mark Royden Williams who appeared visibly shocked, and in disbelief after hearing that he had been convicted.
His co-convict, Dennis Williams, who refused attending court since last Thursday, was a no-show at yesterday’s hearing.
Relatives of the Williamses wore sombre looks on their faces.
When asked if he had anything to say before the death sentence was read to him, Mark Royden Williams declined.
After retiring to the jury room at 7:50 last night, the jury returned their unanimous verdicts, before a courtroom packed to capacity, after deliberating for just under four hours.
Mark Royden Williams and Dennis Williams, were convicted for murdering or unlawfully killing Lance Corporal Zaheer Zakir, and Constables Shane Fredericks and Ron Osborne, as well as Edwin Gilkes, Dexter Adrian, Irving Ferreira, Deonarine Singh, Ronald Gomes, Ashraf Khan, Abdool Yasseen, Errol Thomas, and Baldeo Singh.
The charges stemmed from an attack at Bartica in which gunmen attacked the police station first, killing the three policemen.
The state’s case has been that the convicts were part of a gang which attacked the police station, and after killing the policemen, took the vehicle assigned to the station and went on a rampage, terrorising the community and murdering the nine others before making their getaway with weapons, precious minerals and cash.
According to testimony given during the trial, the gunmen arrived in the area by boat and departed in similar fashion, taking with them firearms they had grabbed from the police station and from a mining company.
Prosecutor Kaulesar had said, that while many were engrossed in the 20/20 cricket match on television, Mark Royden Williams, and Dennis Williams; in the company of the gang, led by the infamous Rondell “Fine Man,” Rawlins reigned terror on the Bartica community on that fateful night, leaving in their wake a bloodbath.
After what the prosecutor termed a highly organised murderous attack, 12 persons lay dead amidst the trail of destruction which the gang left in its wake.
