Following the hearing off his appeal, the Guyana Court of Appeal yesterday morning set aside Clive Knights’ conviction for the murder of insurance company executive Bert Whyte, substituting it instead with a conviction of manslaughter and imposing a sentence of 30 years.
On June 18th, 2015, Knights had been sentenced by trial judge Navindra Singh, to 57 years behind bars after a jury found him guilty of murdering Whyte, who died after being stabbed twice to the chest on May 14th, 2012.
In a ruling delivered by acting Chancellor Yonette Cummings-Edwards, who heard the matter along with appeal judges Rishi Persaud and Dawn Gregory, the court heard that Justice Singh’s summation to the jury regarding a confession statement Knights gave to police was not adequate.