Kiskino Williams was yesterday given an 11-year prison sentence after admitting to setting a Port Kaituma house on fire and causing the death of a little girl.
Five-year-old Joy Singh died as a result of the severe burns she received when Williams set fire to the house, where she and her two siblings were sleeping. The child’s death took place in October, 2006, following a drunken brawl Williams had with the child’s stepfather.
On Thursday, Justice Singh had empanelled a jury for the commencement of trial. However, when Williams made his appearance yesterday, he opted to plead guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.
Following the normal protocol, Williams was required to answer several questions to ensure that the guilty plea was offered freely and fairly, after which the jury was discharged.
Debra Kumar, the man’s attorney, had made an application for the two other counts of arson levied against her client to be heard together with the manslaughter charge so as to have the sentences run concurrently. The application was accepted by Justice Singh, who had the charges read to Williams.
Williams subsequently pleaded guilty to the charges, which stated that on October 11th, 2006, he set fire to two houses, one of which belonged to his brother, Peter Williams.
According to the facts offered by the State Attorney, Williams went to his brother’s house, where they were consuming alcohol. A fight subsequently ensued between the two and resulted in Williams chopping his brother in the head. The intoxicated Williams then took a bucket of gasoline and threw it on the mattress where Joy and her two siblings, Justin and Tolly, were sleeping. Although both Justin and Tolly received severe burns about their bodies, they survived. However, Joy was not as fortunate.
In mitigation, Kumar highlighted that her client, who was arrested and charged for the crime since 2006, has spent almost nine years in custody awaiting trial. The attorney also asked for the court to take into consideration the fact that the man did not waste the court’s time since he opted to plead guilty.
Additionally, Kumar ex-plained that Williams used no personal violence while committing the crime and that the girl’s cause of death was reported to be as a result of the burns she suffered from the fire. She went on to mention that her client was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident and that he has since expressed deep remorse for what happened.
In closing, Kumar begged that a lenient sentence be handed down to her client. Meanwhile, the State Attorney prosecuting the case asked the court to take into consideration the manner in which the child died.
In his address to the court, a solemn William said, “I was in prison for nine years. I did not premeditate to commit the crime. I accept that I was wrong but I can’t do anything but confess to what I did and say I am sorry.”
After hearing the man’s submission, Justice Singh handed down the 11- year sentence. It was further explained that a total of nineteen years had been deducted for time he already spent in prison, the fact that he did not waste the court’s time and because he showed genuine remorse for committing the crime.
Additionally, Williams was also handed two 10-year sentences for the two counts of arson he admitted to. However, the sentences are to run concurrently with the sentence for manslaughter.
The Judge wished Williams good luck while he reminded the man that he will be out with enough to make a meaningful contribution to society.
After the hearing, Zalaka Shari, grandmother of the dead child, expressed satisfaction with the sentence handed down to Williams and stated that she is happy that everything is finally over.
She travelled from Port Kaituma with her husband and one of the siblings who had also suffered severe burns to his body as a result of the fire.
