Court orders retrial for man accused of killing friend

The Appeal Court of Guyana on Monday overturned the decision of Justice Navindra Singh, who sentenced Redrick Alexander, called “Bumpy”, to 56 years in prison after a jury of his peers found him guilty of murdering his friend, Carl Thomas, known as “Dog”, back in November 2010.
Alexander’s sentence had been handed down in April 2014 after a murder trial in the High Court. However, he appealed the verdict and the corresponding prison sentence imposed upon him.
When his matter came up for hearing, his attorney, Nigel Hughes presented arguments before acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards; Appellate Justice Dawn Gregory and High Court Justice Brassington Reynolds. After the presentation, the acting Chancellor adjourned the hearing for five minutes before returning to court and announcing that the Court has accepted the grounds of the appeal.
As such, the Court set aside both the conviction and the sentence, and ordered a retrial at a future sitting of the Demerara Assizes. The decision was read by Justice Cummings-Edwards. Attorney Teshanna Lake appeared for the State.
According to reports surrounding the case, Alexander had known Thomas since they were children and lived like siblings. However, on November 3, 2010, at John Street, Lodge, the two men engaged in a heated argument over clothes that Thomas claimed went missing. In the midst of the argument, Thomas was stabbed once to his abdomen, and he was then rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he later succumbed while receiving treatment. Senior State Counsel Judith Gildharie-Mursalin had prosecuted the case in 2014 and she had called seven witnesses to testify. Alexander, who had been represented by Attorney Hukumchand Parag, had given an unsworn statement from the prisoner’s dock. This meant that he could not be cross-examined by the prosecution nor face questions from the judge or jury when he led his defence. When Alexander’s trial concluded, he protested his 56-year sentence and had pleaded with Justice Singh for a reduction.
The accused was 61 years old when he was convicted four years ago. The prosecution’s main witness had been Lear Porter, a grocery shop owner, of John Street, Lodge, who was the brother of the deceased Thomas. During his testimony, he recalled that around 18:00h on the day in question, he was in his grocery shop when he heard the two men arguing. Porter had also noted that they had been calling each other “cross”. Reports had stated that when Thomas entered his yard after being on the road, Alexander walked up, drew a knife from his waist and allegedly inflicted the fatal stab on Thomas. Reports were that Thomas’s intestines were protruding after the attack.