Boat captain O’Neal Griffith was today sentenced to 75 years in prison for the 2016 murder of Brazilian miner, Braz Alves Dos Santos, whom he shot during a robbery at Puruni, Essequibo.
The sentence was imposed by Justice Navindra Singh at the High Court at Suddie, following the return from the jury, of a unanimous verdict convicting Griffith on the capital charge.
When given a chance to speak, the now 31-year-old father of two ardently professed his innocence, stating that the prosecution witnesses had all lied against him; “but Allah sees and knows everything,” he tearfully resigned.
Justice Singh remarked that it was the convict’s right to profess his innocence if he so wished, “even in the face of all the evidence presented against him.”
Referencing the man’s demeanor during a voir dire which was conducted in the trial, the judge opined that Griffith should not be allowed to ever again see the light of day.
In handing down the sentence, the judge said he had considered the nature, gravity and prevalence of the offence, and noted that while his lawyer had said that he was a first-time offender, “he (Griffith) chose a big one to start with.”
The judge said it may have been the first time that the convict had been caught or that a robbery ended in a life being lost.
Justice Singh commenced the sentence at a base of 60 years—to which he added 10 years for the commission of the robbery. He then added an additional five years for the use of a gun.
From that total, the Court then ordered that the prison deduct time Griffith would have spent on remand awaiting trial with the further stipulation that he not become eligible for parole until after serving 50 years.
Defence attorney Ravindra Mohabir in a mitigating plea had begged the judge to be lenient with his client and to consider his potential for rehabilitation and the fact that he was young at the time the offence was committed.
Prosecutor Tiffini Lyken had, however, asked the judge to take into account that a deadly weapon had been used in the commission of the offence and his lack of remorse.
It had been to the latter request from state counsel that Justice Singh had said that it was Griffith’s right if he wanted to maintain his innocence despite the jury’s verdict; even as he noted that he had found no factors to mitigate sentence.
Reports had been that Griffith had gone into to Dos Santos’ camp which he robbed of a quantity of raw gold and other valuables, shooting and killing him in the process, before making good his escape.
Other persons in the camp had also been injured.
Investigations were subsequently carried out and Griffith was arrested and charged.
