Convicted soldier seeks leniency in court
Published:Thursday | August 26, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter
Lawyers representing 33-year-old Jamaica Defence Force soldier Leslie Moodie, who was convicted last month of the murder of four persons in a nightclub, made a special plea yesterday for the non-imposition of the death penalty.
Attorneys-at-law Pierre Rogers and Michael Deans admitted that the murders were of a horrible nature and were exceptional and extreme, but said there were other factors which the judge had to consider.
They called for Supreme Court judge Horace Marsh to impose a sentence of life imprisonment.
Senior Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Lisa Palmer Hamilton is calling for the death penalty.
Hamilton referred to the high crime rate in Jamaica and the fact that more than one person was killed. She said it was clear that the United Kingdom-based Privy Council had left the determination of the death penalty for the Jamaican courts based on the crime situation that exists in Jamaica.
She will continue her submissions when the sentencing hearing resumes today in the Home Circuit Court.
Four people were killed in the October 2008 attack in the Double Diamond Gaming Lounge Club, on Washington Boulevard, St Andrew.
Moodie was convicted of the murders of Ejon Peart, 20, sound-system operator of Greendale Drive, Kingston 19; Davian Kerr, 19, and Lynchmore Forbes, 24, both of Pembroke Hall; and William Wilberforce, 28, of Duhaney Drive, Kingston 20.
Evidence was given at the in camera trial that, about 4:15 a.m. on October 20, 2008, the men were at the club where Moodie was having drinks. Moodie was harassing a female patron and persons cautioned him about his behaviour. Moodie fired shots, killing the four and injuring several others.
Lost his faculties
Rogers said one of the factors which the judge had to consider was that Moodie was drinking heavily and lost his faculties. The other factor, he said, was that there was some degree of provocation on the night of the incident. He asked the judge to bear in mind that one of the Crown witnesses said that, before the shooting, the soldier had played the role of peacemaker when he quelled a dispute between patrons.
The lawyers said the judge should bear in mind Moodie's special training from the army. They said Moodie resorted to those training and special skills when he was discharging his weapon during the horrible incident. In addition, they said the probation officer's report noted that Moodie was remorseful about the murders.