Man on remand for over eight years gets time served for manslaughter

Stating that his client had been on remand for 8 and 1/2 years awaiting trial on a charge of murder which should not have been instituted in the first place, attorney Maxwell Mc Kay yesterday afternoon succeeded in requesting a sentence of time-served instead.

Lawrence Leroy Semple had been originally indicted for the murder of Jose Lamon Valenzuela to which he pleaded not guilty. He, however, pleaded guilty  to the lesser charge of manslaughter, admitting that between March 10th and 11th, 2012, he unlawfully killed Valenzuela.

On behalf of his client, Mc Kay told Justice Navindra Singh that given the circumstances of the case, it was unlikely that a conviction for murder could be secured.