A fight between two intoxicated men, which left one of them dead, has now ended with the other serving 12 years in jail.
Ignatius France of Port Kaituma, Region One (Barima-Waini), was on Monday sentenced to 12 years in prison by High Court Judge Justice Navindra Singh after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
The 35-year-old man was initially charged for murder but on Tuesday he admitted to the lesser count of manslaughter. The court heard that on May 11, 2012, at Port Kaituma, Region One, he killed Mark Ashby.
France was represented by Attorney-at-Law Maxwell McKay, who in a plea of mitigation informed the court that his client acted in self-defence since he was attacked by the deceased during an argument.
The court heard that on May 11, 2012, France and Ashby were involved in an argument which escalated into a scuffle, during which the accused, who was intoxicated at the time, armed himself with a chopper and dealt the deceased a chop to the neck.
Ashby was rushed to the Port Kaituma Hospital where he died while receiving medical attention.
Before handing down the sentence, Justice Singh told France to “try and live a better life” when he gets out of prison since the entire matter was the result of imbibing alcohol.
When the 12-year sentence was handed down, Justice Singh ordered that the seven years the accused spent on remand be deducted from the sentence.
The State’s case was presented by Prosecutors Teriq Mohammed, Tuanna Hardy and Abigail Gibbs.
