Vigilante murder appeal quashed
February 12, 2009
The Court of Appeal, in dismissing a case in which the appellant was involved in a mob killing, emphasised that such deaths undermined the Constitution of Jamaica.
The court made the observation when it ordered that Donald Thompson, 37, football entertainment coordinator, of Old Harbour, St Catherine, serve his sentence of life imprisonment, with a specification that he serve 15 years before becoming eligible for parole.
Thompson was convicted by a jury on January 29, 2004, of the murder of Peter Roy Thomas. He was sentenced by Justice Roy Jones.
About 1 p.m. on August 20, 2001, Thomas was set upon by a mob and beaten, stoned and chopped to death. Thomas had been accused of robbing a taxi operator. The deceased's 12-year-old son was the sole eyewitness for the Crown.
Good antecedents
Thompson appealed against the sentence on grounds that it was manifestly excessive.
Lord Anthony Gifford, QC, who represented Thompson on appeal, urged the court, comprising president of the Court of Appeal Justices Seymour Panton, Hazel Harris and Mahadev Dukharan, to take into account Thompson's good antecedents.
Lord Gifford argued that the court should take the view that on occasions such as the incident that took place on August 20, 2001, men who were normally law-abiding succumbed to mass hysteria and committed crimes which they would never have contemplated on their own. He said Thompson was the only individual who was punished for the offence, which was committed by several persons....
Author: Barbara Gayle
Source: Jamaica Gleaner
