NOVEMBER 16TH, 2018 – NOVEMBER 23RD, 2018
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VOLUME 14 - NO. 46
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STRAIGHT TO JAIL FOR ILLEGAL GUN OWNERS Chief Justice issues strong warning
by Hayden Boyce Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
I
f you’re caught with an illegal firearm you will go to jail, even if you have the cleanest of reputations and you don’t intend to use it to commit crime. That was essentially the direction given my Chief Justice Margaret Ramsay-Hale at a November 12th, sentencing hearing for popular boxer and gym owner, Jim Kelly Joseph, who was sentenced to seven years in prison for keeping an illegal firearm and ammunition. Joseph applied to the Chief Justice for bailing pending an appeal, but she denied it. On Friday, November 16th, he applied to the Court of Appeal for bail but the Court of Appeal which comprises president Elliott Mottley, QC, and Justices of Appeal Humphrey Stollmeyer, QC, and Roger Hamel-Smith, QC, also dismissed his application on the basis that they did not have any jurisdiction to entertain it. In her sentencing remarks, the Chief Justice said there is a clear need to discourage the unlawful possession of firearms. She cited a 2017 Court of Appeal case which noted that the possession of a firearm without any aggravating features beyond the fact of such possession, is of itself a grave crime and should be dealt with accordingly. She also referred to another case which stated that the aim of the minimum sentence is to deter people from keeping firearms in their possession, whatever the justification may be. The Chief Justice stated: Clearly with respect to Jim Kelly, the court finds that he had no criminal intention in taking the gun into his possession and that he kept it with no intention to make use of it, but it was a lethal weapon. On the question of exceptional circumstances, I do not
Government signs $14million agreement with European Commission From front to back: Deputy Governor, Her Excellency Anya Williams, Premier Hon. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson, Ambassador of European Union, Her Excellency Malgorzata Wasilewska and Premier Hon. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson. Richard Bardia Divins (far left), Head of Cooperation for the European Union-Caribbean Investment Facility, Deputy Director Mr. Mark Garland, Permanent Secretary, Mr. Wesley Clerveaux and another team member of the European Commission.(See page 5 for more information). consider that his exceptional character, carrying, discharging or using it, they which I accept, or the innocent way in would have done so. But it is an offence which he came into possession of the to keep, carry , discharge or use (an firearm, justify a finding of exceptional illegal firearm), so from the legislature’s circumstances.” point of view, keeping a firearm is a She added: “One of the dangers grave crime which should be dealt with that the law is aimed at, is not just accordingly. It is as criminal to keep it, preventing you from keeping a firearm as it is to use it.” for whatever laudable purpose, but The Chief Justice continued: ensuring that firearms are not kept by “The question is then, whether your persons like you, because they can fall keeping it (the gun) for one day or 18 into the hands of people who would use days with whatever intention, does them to commit crime.” that amount to special circumstances? The Chief Justice said she The fact that you kept it rather than could only image what would have delivering it to the police constitutes happened if a criminal had executed a whole offence and I think there is his own particular sort of search on no departing from the mandatory Joseph’s premises and found the gun. minimum sentence because the danger “That is really the sort of which is inherent in keeping the firearm, mischief that the legislation is aimed for whatever reason, is, in your case at,” she added. If the legislature had quite manifest. If the police were there, wished to make keeping a firearm having received information, there was somehow less of an offence than an equally good chance that persons of
the wrong stripe might have received information and broken into your house with the intention to steal that firearm. This is the danger of keeping (an illegal firearm) for whatever reason.” She stressed that people who are lawfully licensed to keep firearms must keep them in “a particular way” for the precise reason that it can’t fall into the hands of criminals. The Chief Justice added: “The question has been, and is, whether or not the taking of his good character in the round and considering his lack of criminal intention in receiving the firearm and lack of criminal intention in retaining it, whether or not those are exceptional circumstances. I say they are not. In the event that I am wrong, the Court of Appeal will, no doubt, correct me as to how we should approach this question of special circumstances.” Continued on page 2
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