Davian Brian given appropriate sentence

THE EDITOR, Madam:

I am writing this letter with reference to the article, ‘Fitz-Henley calls for Sykes to speak on sentence given to serial rapist’, published in The Gleaner on June 16.

I respect the legal decisions and the judgments that the judge made in the trial of the serial rapist, Davian Bryan, based upon the laws of Jamaica.

It is the job of judges to interpret the law and apply it to make sound judgments and decisions.

In addition judges are also bound by the Sentencing Guidelines For Use By Judges of The Supreme Court of Jamaica and The Parish Courts, which is used as a reference to achieve consistency in the judicial approach to sentencing.

The guidelines are comprehensive. They are not just used to determine sections and paragraphs for Sexual Offences Act (SOA), but also for other criminal offences.

Judges use SOA with the guidelines to determine sentencing. For example, statutory maximum sentence for rape is life imprisonment. Statutory minimum sentence is 15 years, and the usual starting point is 15 years; the normal range is 15-25 years.

Sentencing judges apply statutorily prescribed percentage discounts allowable for guilty plea, when assessing the length of the sentence. The sentencing judge will also take in account the time spent by the accused in remand, when assessing the length of the sentence.

Based upon the above discounts and the sentencing guidelines, I find 23 years sentence for the convicted serial rapist Davian Bryan appropriate, since he did not murder any of the victims.

Also, imprisoning a person is supposed to help reform them, and so the judges would take this in consideration when assessing the length of the sentence.

I have empathy for citizens who expect a different sentence from the judgment the trial judge delivered.

CARGILL KELLY