“Ow nah madam, give meh lil community service nah man,” a man who allegedly stole two cases of empty bottles beseeched Magistrate Nyasha Williams-Hatmin yesterday.
Terry Johnson of Fourth Street, La Penitence, Georgetown pleaded not guilty to a charge of simple larceny when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.
It is alleged that on November 15 at Fourth Street, La Penitence Johnson stole two cases of drink bottles worth $2,000, property of Mahendra Balram.
Johnson told the magistrate that he wanted community service or “something like that” because he couldn’t manage the “hassle of moving from one courtroom to the other”. However, he was placed on $15,000 bail.
The accused will have to appear in Court One on December 3.
justice system is not perfect but at least it is there . punishment is meant to be a deterrant . in any case he will not die but at least he may learn a lesson.
Yeah that’s funny , he got $ 15,000 bail and other more serious offenders got $ 10,000.
I’m wondering how the magistrate was thinking , lets see, maybe she’s did that so he’ll not reach the more serious offences .
No , I don’t understand . I rest my case .
What can I say here that can add to the well thought out reasons by you bloggers why bail was granted in such a large sum for this “beg man”. I see it this way. The message by the magistrate is: if you have a “beg man” lawyer, your bail is small. On the other hand, if you appear in court without one, look out, high bail. The magistrate recognizes that there are many brakes, bell and head light attorneys out there, and they need jobs. Come on guys get one of those attorneys to stand by your side in court. Low bail. LOL. ISNM
The way I see it is that there must be some rationale for the way that justice is administered in Guyana. I cannot undertand:
- why is the police allowed to set bail for persons who are in custody and who
have not yet been to court: why are they allowed to set bail conditions, period.
- why is there the appearance of no regulated way in which magistrates set bail
- what criteria magistrates use for jailing people convicted of minor offences
while freeing those guilty of major crimes
- is there a set of guidelines for imposing monetary fines, anfdif there is why do
we see different fines being imposed by different magistrates for similar
crimes.
In other words, how fair is the legal system in Guyana?
Mr Lewis, 1.The police set bail if the matter has a lengthy process and they have to gather more evidence..they have a law to prevent them from holding someone for more than 72 hrs.in so doing they have to be sure that the accused returns to the station while the investigation is going on.
2.A magistrate sets bail based on background checks which the prosecution is armed with..all they want is to ensure that the accused returns to answer the charges
3. Each offence carries minimum and maximum penalities..so if you are a frequent law breaker the penalty will be higher.
4. This will depends on the evidences revealed in court against you..Different magistrate may have different impression of accused..But there is max. and minimum.
How fair is the system? as fair as any other..
he is nothing but a thief and will continue to be a thief….
I stand corrected – “opinion”
I would say give this man 500 hours ommunity service cleaning areas around Eve Leary and Ayanganna.
Common Madam Magistrate –let the guy have his wish for community service . (1)He is paying back to the community ,(2) –he is not wasting tax payers money to house and feed him in jail ,(3) the jails are overcrowded , (4) it was a petty crime . Give the guy a break .
this sound like de same mad that stole de toilet bowel
at least , he’d be saving the taxpayers money if he did community service. god knows this country needs cleaning up. let the man clean some trenches, the rainy season is coming. let him wash some churches or schools. do things that the government would have had to pay much more than two grand to do.
I think this guy should been sentence to rehab ……only junkies thief stuff like that