By Femi Harris-Smith
In a moving tribute to the man she called her hero, Vidya Mannilall said that the day her father was shot and killed “my life changed forever…my world was turned upside down.”
The young woman was at the time presenting her impact statement at the sentencing hearing of her father’s killer—Norlando Browne—who Justice Sandil Kissoon imprisoned for life, ordering that he is not to be eligible for parole before spending at least 30 years behind bars.
Shawn Mannilall, a newspaper vendor, was shot and killed on the night of January 10th, 2020 after armed bandits invaded his Essequibo Coast home during a family Bar-B-Q.
His daughter said that witnessing her father take his last breath, has left her with an “unbearable heaviness” from which she said she can never escape; and that no one should ever have to face.
In tears she spoke of being “broken,” and having “lost every sense of normality.”
She said it is indescribable the devastating loss her family suffered on that fateful day she likened to a nightmare, which she said they wish they could wake from.
In between sobs, she said that her father would not be there to share in her future achievements such as university graduations, walking her down the aisle or welcoming his grandchildren.
She said that while she can call for her father’s killer to be put behind bars for the rest of his life, it would not be enough, as there is nothing that could ever bring her dad back, which would be her only true wish.
Meanwhile, in his brief address to the court, Browne told the family that he was “sorry for their loss,” but was quick to add that it was not he who had done the shooting.
He claimed to have been tricked by his accomplices whom he referred to as friends. According to him, they had told him that he was being taken to someone who could provide him a job as he was unemployed at the time.
Commending himself to the Court as “not a criminal person,” the offender then begged his victim’s family for their forgiveness.
His attorney Damien Da Silva in a mitigating plea had asked the Court to be merciful to his client who he said was a first-time offender and of previous good character.
He then commended the offender to the Judge as being the perfect candidate for rehabilitation and reintegration to society.
Though acknowledging that his client had not pleaded guilty to the charge at the earliest given opportunity, Da Silva begged the Judge to still accord to him the full one-third deduction given for such pleas.
Counsel, however, would later concede after Justice Kissoon referenced a number of legal precedents, that the law does not so allow.
The judge was keen to point out that the authorities especially frown upon accused persons pleading guilty only seemingly because of the overwhelming evidence presented against them.
The judge explained that in those cases, it clearly calls into question whether an accused has genuinely taken responsibility for their crime, or whether their plea is simply “strategic” because the prosecution would have “opened the floodgates of evidence.”
Against this background, Justice Kissoon reminded that it was after almost a dozen witnesses had been called against Browne, that he decided to plead guilty to the capital charge levelled against him.
The Judge said he had found no circumstances to mitigate the sentence, but rather only aggravating factors.
Among them he said that the murder had been premeditated, as there was evidence that it had been meticulously planned and executed during the course of yet another offence—robbery.
Justice Kissoon said that the Court also took note of the deadly weapon used, the involvement of multiple attackers and the extent of the injuries the victim sustained; stressing that of the four shots, there was damage to vital organs—his liver, lungs and heart.
Underscoring too, the devastating effect of the loss to the family who witnessed the shooting, Justice Kissoon said he could find no factors worthy of mitigating sentence, and thereafter imposed life, with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
Background
Browne had been charged jointly with three others for murdering Mannilall also known as ‘Paper Man’ on January 10th, during the course or furtherance of a robbery.
The 48-year-old father and husband of Parcel 61 Queenstown, Essequibo Coast, who was a newspaper vendor at Charity and Anna Regina, was shot and killed in his home after he attempted to fend off two men, both armed, who invaded his home.
The attack had occurred just around 8 pm. One of the men had a gun while the other was armed with a cutlass.
Police had said that their investigations revealed that Mannilall and his family were about to enter their home when they were confronted by the bandits.
Mannilall was subsequently shot in his chest, shoulder and the right side of his abdomen, causing him to fall after which both men escaped, the police had said.
Mannilall was rushed to the Suddie Public Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.
