Former death row prisoner found guilty of manslaughter at new trial
A 12-member jury yesterday found former death row prisoner Terry Kissoon guilty of manslaughter after his retrial for the death of Troy Smith.
Kissoon, in December, 2013, was sentenced to death by Justice Diana Insanally after being found guilty of the murder of Smith, which occurred on July 30th, 2010.
However, Kissoon appealed the matter and in July, 2018, the Appeal Court, after reviewing the case, allowed the appeal and set aside his conviction and sentence.
Following his retrial before Justice Sandil Kissoon in the Demerara Assizes, Kissoon yesterday heard that the jury unanimously found him not guilty of murder but guilty, by a proportion of 10 jurors to 2, of manslaughter.
Justice Kissoon subsequently ordered a probation report on the accused and adjourned the matter until November 8th, when the report is expected to be read prior to sentencing.
The prosecution had said that Kissoon fatally shot Smith on July 30th, 2010, after accusing him of stealing a motorcycle. After fleeing, he was held more than a year later in Lethem.
Kissoon, when called upon to lead his defence, had elected to give an unsworn statement in which he claimed that he was 300 miles away in the interior when Smith was killed. Kissoon also claimed he was wrongfully identified by Smith’s brother, Shawn Smith, who had testified during the trial that he had seen Kissoon holding a gun in his hand.
According to reports, Kissoon went to Smith’s Lot 108 Thomas Street, Kitty home just before 7 am on the day of the shooting and accused him of stealing his motorcycle. He later told Smith that he had 24 hours to return it. The allegations led to a heated argument, during which Smith was shot once in the left side of his abdomen before Kissoon fled the area.
The injured man was rushed by relatives to the Georgetown Hospital but he was pronounced dead on arrival.