The Queen v Andrew Milton and Others
| Jurisdiction | British Virgin Islands |
| Judge | HARIPRASHAD-CHARLES J |
| Judgment Date | 23 November 2009 |
| Court | High Court (British Virgin Islands) |
| Date | 23 November 2009 |
| Docket Number | CASE NO. 18 OF 2007 |
THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN SUPREME COURT
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE (CRIMINAL)
CASE NO. 18 OF 2007
Mr. Terrence F. Williams, Director of Public Prosecutions. With him are Ms. Tiffany R. Scatliffe, Senior Crown Counsel and Mr. Valston Graham, Crown Counsel for the Crown
Mr. Dwight Reece for the Defendant, Andrew Milton
Mr. Hayden St. Clair Douglas and Mr. Patrick Thompson for the Defendant, Dennis Campbell
(Criminal Law — murder — mandatory life imprisonment — sections 150 and 23 of the Criminal Code, 1997 — section 9(2) of the Parole Act, 2009 — setting of minimum term before consideration of eligibility for parole — choice of three starting points: ‘whole life’, 30 years or 15 years — general considerations — seriousness of the offence — aggravating and mitigating factors — announcement of minimum term in open court)
InR. v David Swain1, I stated that the law regarding the sentencing of persons convicted of murder has undergone some major changes since May of
this year when select sections of the Parole Act, 2009 (‘the Act’) came into force2. Prior to the enactment of this legislation, every person convicted of murder was automatically visited with the penalty of life imprisonment3. No consideration whatsoever was given to any mitigating factors that the convicted person desired or was able to put forward. In fact, the trial judge was duty-bound to hand down the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment in every case where there was a conviction of murder.The Act contains provisions of great importance to the sentencing of offenders sentenced to life imprisonment for murder. The Act does not affect the fact that the mandatory sentence for murder remains life imprisonment. It transferred the role of the Executive in determining the minimum term to the trial judge. As a result, a judge upon sentencing a person to imprisonment for life is now required to state whether such person may be eligible to be considered for parole and if such person is found to be so eligible, to state a minimum period of imprisonment that such person shall serve before being considered for parole for the first time4.
Another provision of great significance in the Act is that although the offender may be released on licence, and the minimum period affects the date on which this may happen, the offender remains at risk of being returned to prison for the rest of his life5.
Following the unanimous verdict of guilty of murder against the two defendants, Andrew Milton and Dennis Campbell, the court embarked on a sentencing hearing on 6th October 2009 to determine the defendants' eligibility for parole and to state the minimum period of imprisonment that they should serve before being considered for parole.
The facts of the case as outlined by the Crown and which the jury must have accepted are as follows: in August 2006, Milton came to the British Virgin Islands (‘the BVI’) and stayed with his sister, Kerriann Ebanks at the Keturah Crabbe Apartments at Little Dix Hill, East End. At the time, Kerriann was sharing her apartment with her friend of 10 years, Dorcas Elizabeth Rhule
also called Louise. Shortly after his arrival into the Territory, Milton requested of his sister to go to Her Majesty's Prison to visit their brother, Mirouts, also known as Kirk who was an inmate there. Whilst at the prison, an altercation ensued between Kerriann and their uncle, Philemon Miller, also an inmate at the prison. On the advice of a prison guard, Kerriann left the prison and waited in her car while Milton stayed and completed his visit. When Milton returned to Kerriann's car he was quiet and he turned the radio up. Shortly after, Milton paid another visit to the prison. Kerriann then went to Jamaica for two weeks. Upon her return, she was told that Milton threatened her life as he felt that she was responsible for their uncle and brother being in prison. As a result, Kerriann asked Milton to move out of her apartment. With the assistance of Hubert McLeod, Milton moved out of Kerriann's apartment to Desmond Alphonso's (‘DA’) house at Kingston taking with him some cushions from a sofa chair on Kerriann's balcony.In the afternoon of Saturday, 30th September 2006, Milton, driven by McLeod, went to Kerriann's apartment to collect some things he had left behind. An argument ensued between Milton and Kerriann. Milton threatened to kill her. It ended by Kerriann asking Louise to throw her keys and she drove off to the East End Police Station.
Later that same evening, McLeod drove Milton, George O'Connor and Christopher ‘Gogo’ Bailey to the Terrence Lettsome Airport to collect Dennis Campbell also known as ‘Soupy’ who was coming in from Jamaica. Immigration Officer, Walter Madura processed Campbell and O'Connor came and collected him. Milton referred to Campbell as the ‘Magic Man’. In the vehicle, Milton stated that he wanted Campbell to kill his sister, Kerriann and help him to break his brother and uncle out of prison. Campbell told Milton that as it was family business he had to handle that for himself. That same night, O'Connor showed a black 45 caliber gun to Campbell.
On Tuesday, 3rd October 2006, Kerriann took her Ford Explorer to Tola Motors for the technician to take a look at it as she was experiencing some mechanical problems. The technician and her went on a brief test drive and ended up by DA's house where Milton, Campbell and Bailey were working illegally. Kerriann asked the technician to stop and she threatened the men that she was sending Immigration for them.
Later that same afternoon, McLeod transported Campbell and Milton to Boxer's house at Baughers Bay where they met O'Connor. The men ate. Milton stated that his sister brought immigration for him. O'Connor inquired of Milton what he would do. Milton replied that‘he going to kill his sister and one of them police boy’. Then Milton asked O'Connor for the glove and O'Connor told him that the glove is at his house in town. McLeod drove Milton and Campbell to O'Connor's house in town and Milton went and got the glove. Campbell took some latex gloves that McLeod had on the back seat of his car. They then went back to Boxer's house at Baughers Bay where they got some duct tape. Shortly after, McLeod drove Milton and Campbell to Dale's house at East End where Bailey, armed with a firearm, was picked up. McLeod dropped Milton, Campbell and Bailey by a church close to Kerriann's apartment.
In the evening Kerriann came home from work. Before going to her apartment, she called out to Louise who gave her a faint response. Upon approaching her door, Kerriann heard her phone ringing and realized that Louise was not answering it, quite untypical of Louise. She found the door unlocked and was quarreling to herself that she had told Louise to keep the door locked at all times because of the threat from her brother to kill her. Unsuspectingly, she stepped inside to look on the dining table to see if the key was there. The key was not there so she was still looking for it in her handbag. When she looked up, she saw her brother Milton with a gun pointed at her. She wanted to run but her legs became heavy. She couldn't move. As she was there contemplating whether to go down on her knees and beg her brother not to kill her, she saw someone else run past her. She ‘pivoted’ and jumped over the steps. She landed to the bottom. She hit her head and got up and started to run again. As she ran, she was shouting ‘murder, murder’ and ended up at a neighbour's apartment. She stayed there until the police arrived.
John Shirley, a neighbour was home at this time. He heard a scream and looked out and saw a man whom he described as being lighter than him on the stairs. He went in his apartment and called 911. Simone Syfox Foster, who lives directly below Kerriann's apartment heard when Kerriann called out to Louise. She also heard a loud sound as if something fell in her apartment.
While speaking to the 911 operator, John Shirley got a spotlight and shone it on Kerriann's car when he realized that someone was trying to get into it. He saw three men who then walkedaway hastily towards the garbage receptacle. John Shirley shone the light to get the attention of the garbage truck. It was at that stage that he realized that there was a body on the ground. The body was subsequently identified as Louise.
After the incident, Milton, Campbell and Bailey hid out in the bushes and in an abandoned house in the Fish Bay area for about a month. In a nationwide hunt, the men were spotted by the police from a helicopter. Milton and Campbell were later intercepted. At the time of their capture, Campbell had in his possession a firearm and 5 live-rounds of ammunition.
On 5th October 2009, the jury returned a unanimous verdict of guilty of murder against Milton and Campbell for the death of Louise. The jury also returned a unanimous verdict of guilty of conspiracy to murder Kerriann against both defendants and another defendant, George O'Connor. This judgment is concerned only with the sentencing of Milton and Campbell.
In his fervent plea in mitigation, Mr. Reece, appearing for the defendant, Milton urged the court to be lenient and considerate even though Milton said that he wished not to be considered for parole. Learned Counsel implored the court not to impose consecutive terms of imprisonment for the two offences and to consider 25 years as the appropriate starting point in this case. Counsel was however unable to provide any authority to substantiate the latter submission.
Learned Counsel Mr. Douglas appearing for Campbell submitted that Campbell has spent most of his time in prison since his arrival in the BVI. He...
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The Queen v David Swain [Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court]
... ... Time spent on remand was taken into account ... 31 In R v. Milton, Campbell and O'Connor 13 , the defendants Andrew Milton and Dennis Campbell were convicted of ... ...