By Bruce Asemota
Vincent Gomez, a resident of New Jeshwang, was yesterday sentenced to ten years imprisonment for manslaughter.
The prosecution said Vincent on 13th January, 2024 caused the death of his elder brother, Thomas Gomez, by hitting him with a stone on the head.
Vincent pleaded guilty to the charge of manslaughter when he was arraigned.
Passing sentence, Justice Jaiteh asserted that he finds it expedient that the modern trend in the administration of criminal justice requires the court to give offenders the punishment which is proportionate to the offence, taking into consideration factors like offence seriousness, protection of the public and mitigating circumstances.
Justice Jaiteh disclosed that he noted the seriousness of the offence committed by the convict.
He pointed out that he was persuaded to impose the severest punishment of life imprisonment taking into consideration the the particular circumstances of this case.
Justice Jaiteh pointed out that he would not do so because the convict is a first-time offender.
Justice Jaiteh cited the case of Nyabally versus the state reported in the Gambia Law Report in which the Gambia Court of Appeal decision stated that first time offenders should be treated with leniency.
The trial judge noted that he found the convict repentant, have learnt his lesson in the incident and have not wasted the court’s time by entering an early guilty plea.
Justice Jaiteh disclosed that because of these reasons that he will not impose the statutory maximum sentence but to invoke section 29(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code and sentence him to 10 years imprisonment.
State Counsel Fatou Drammeh represented the Attorney General.
