Kendall Skeete gets 20 years for manslaughter

Kendall Skeete, who had escaped from the Lusignan Prison in mid-July, was advised by Justice James Bovell-Drakes to continue reading his Bible and to control his bad temper, minutes after he was sentenced to serve 20 years in jail for manslaughter on Friday. A smiling Skeete apologized to the family of the deceased and also to the State for violating the laws. Before leaving the courtroom, Skeete thanked and saluted the judge.

Skeete, 38, was initially charged with the October 25, 2008 murder of 27-year-old Kenneth Allen. He however opted to plead guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter at the High Court in Georgetown.

Skeete stabbed Allen several times in the region of the heart and lungs, after Allen had attempted to stop a group of men from assaulting and robbing another man at Goed Fortuin, West Bank Demerara. After committing the act, Skeete went on the run, but was captured in 2015. Chiaka Hodge, a Probation and Social Services Officer, told the court that based on interviews she conducted with family members and neighbours of Skeete, it was revealed that he had a bad temper. Hodge said that Skeete dropped out of school in Grade 8 to secure employment after he became a teenaged father. The probation officer noted that Skeete had an unstable love life, since he held relationships with six different women—each relationship produced a child. It was further noted that there was also instability in his work life, since he held multiple jobs. According to Hodge, Skeete’s grandmother told her that he used illicit substances and that his choices in friends were not on par with her teaching and values. Attorney-at-Law Pamela De Santos, who represented Skeete, asked the judge to consider the fact that her client pleaded guilty to the lesser offence, avoiding a lengthy trial. De Santos said that her client was acting in self-defence after being attacked by Allen, who hit him on the head with a hammer. The lawyer said that her client related this from the inception in a caution statement he gave to police.

The judge advised Skeete that he should avoid getting into problems with anyone during his time of incarceration. Justice Bovell-Drakes also urged him to walk away from trouble. Although he will be behind bars for over a decade, the judge told Skeete that he should see it as an opportunity to be a good example to his children by speaking with them regularly and warning them not to go down the path he chose.

(kaieteurnewsonline)