ONE NOVEMBER NIGHT IN 2005, four people were drinking puncheon at a house in Arima when one of them, a 45-year-old man, expressed a desire to have sex with another member of the group, a 15-year-old boy.
The boy and the other two members of the group then stabbed and chopped the man before pouring gasoline on him, setting him ablaze, and throwing him over a cliff.
The boy, now 32, was ordered released from prison yesterday after spending more than 16 years on remand awaiting trial.
Justice Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds issued the order after Ricardo Gittens pleaded guilty to the crime earlier this year.
While death by hanging is the mandatory sentence for capital murder, it does not apply to minors.
Despite the fact that he was ordered released, Justice Ramsumair-Hinds stated that she had considered the “magnitude and darkness of the death” suffered by Joseph Self.
The sentence imposed was based on a maximum sentence indication provided by the judge previously.
Yesterday, Justice Ramsumair-Hinds stated that she believed 20 years in prison was an appropriate starting point in the sentencing process.
However, because of Gittens’ guilty plea and the time he had already spent in custody, his time in prison had already been served.
However, the judge expressed reservations about his reintegration into society. As a result, she ordered that he be placed under the supervision of probation for the next three years as part of his sentence.
The probation officer is to report to the court every three months, and Gittens is to appear in court on November 30 every year for the next three years.
The other two members of the group, “Ricky” and “Puerto Rican,” who were said to have taken part in the murder, were never charged.
Investigators arrested Ricky but later released him, while Puerto Rican was never found.
On November 9, 2005, the body of Self was discovered over a cliff in Blanchisseuse. An autopsy revealed that he died as a result of multiple stab and chop wounds.
Gittens was arrested and questioned by homicide officers in August of 2006.
In his statement, he stated that he, Self, and two other people identified as “Ricky” and “Puerto Rican” were liming and drinking at Ricky’s house on the night in question. While there, Ricky informed Gittens that Self had expressed an interest in having sex with Gittens.
“… I tell him I’m a man and I don’t belong in them.” “He (Ricky) says let’s kill him, and I say well yeah,” Gittens was quoted as telling the officers.
Following this, the four allegedly left the location in Self’s car to go to a house on Demerara Road.
Gittens stated that while travelling, they stopped along the road, and the Puerto Rican pulled out a knife and stabbed Self.
Ricky stabbed the deceased as well, and Gittens stabbed him twice in the back.
After that, Self was placed in the trunk of the car and driven to a river. Puerto Rican opened the trunk, and Self, who had a cutlass, “pelt ah chop” and hit Puerto Rican in his hand.
Ricky and Puerto Rican then threw a boulder at Self, who was still in the trunk. They then left and went to Blanchisseuse to dispose of the body.
Ricky took the cutlass from the trunk and stabbed Self on the belly.
According to Gittens, Puerto Rican and Ricky then took Self out of the trunk and threw him on the ground before dousing him in gasoline.
He told investigators that a Puerto Rican set him on fire and threw him off a cliff.
Gittens was represented by Deputy Director of the Public Defenders Department (PDD), while the State was represented by attorney Ambay Ramkellawan.
