Court of Appeal affirms life sentence for child killer

The Guyana Court of Appeal yesterday affirmed the life sentence given to child killer Rawle Samuels but struck out the stipulation by the trial judge that he must serve thirty calendar years before he can be considered for parole.

Justice of Appeal Arif Bulkan, who delivered the judgment of the court on the appeal which was also heard by acting Chancellor Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Justice of Appeal Rafiq Khan, said they found that the trial judge erred when he made the parole stipulation.

On July 18th of last year, Samuels, who had been indicted for murder, pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter to the gruesome February 6th, 2013 slaying of four-year-old Jamal Nedd. He was sentenced to life in prison with the stipulation that parole should only be considered after 30 calendar years.