Man, 73, gets 20 years for murder

Seventy- three year old, Donald Mapp, called Chetty, was yesterday sentenced to 20 years in prison for the murder of his friend, Winsel Roger Edwards.

Sentenced:
Donald Mapp

The sentence was handed down by Justice Roxanne George-Wiltshire at the High Court in Georgetown.
The Judge had initially intended a sentence of 25 years in prison but deducted five years off the sentence; two for the time he spent in prison pending trial and three years because of his poor health.
Mapp, of Tucville, Georgetown, mortally injured his friend in a brawl two years ago. He was convicted of the crime after a twelve-member mixed jury returned a guilty verdict for the crime, last month.
Mapp stabbed Winsel Roger Edwards, during a drunken brawl at Stretchy’s vulcanizing shop in Tucville on February 15, 2013. The incident is said to have stemmed from a ‘name calling’ incident.
The two men were reportedly consuming alcohol when they began calling each other names. The teasing intensified and Mapp became highly annoyed. He left the shop but returned some time later with a knife.
Thirty-three-year-old Edwards, called ‘Buck’ or ‘Roger’ of 320 Self Help Square, East Ruimveldt, was stabbed once in the vicinity of his heart.  He was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, (GPHC) where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
The elderly man had maintained his innocence throughout the trial.  In his defence, Mapp told the court that he could not recall what went on between himself and the victim on the day of the incident.
“Myself and Roger were friends. I had no reason for wanting to kill him,” Mapp had told the court.
However, in his evidence, Clairmont Greenidge, the proprietor of the vulcanizing shop recalled that ‘Chetty,’ was a regular ‘limer’ at the shop. He said that the elderly man would often come to the shop to hang out and watch television.
Greenidge said that on the day of the incident, the men were tantalizing each other, during which Edwards called Mapp an “old anti-man”. Mapp retorted by calling him (Edwards) a “******.”
He recalled that Mapp left some time during the row, but he returned.
Greenidge said that the elderly man attacked his younger opponent from behind.  Both men were said to have toppled to the ground. Greenidge said that Edwards tried to get up, but he fell back and Mapp stabbed him.
Yesterday a probation report which was requested by Mapp’s Attorney, Debra Kumar, was read aloud to the court before the sentence was handed down. The Judge told Mapp that he will be eligible for parole but that will be after he serves seven years in jail.

Well, we do have some "smart" legal minds here in GNI bog.  My [layman's] understanding of the law, the penalties are prescribed by statutes with flexibility related to severity and other factors.  The convict's age, health, etc are a humanitarian issue.  On the basis of the law, the convicted should get the appropriate sentence and his lawyer plea for leniency to be considered.  He should serve his time based on the law.

From what I read, age was considered with -3 years and he will be eligible for parole in 7 years.  The judge seemed very considerate.

Let us not forget that this wasn't an accidental murder. The defendant went away and came back to commit the crime. I don't want to speculate why he went away and came back, but based on that fact alone the crime would be classified as premeditated murder, which does carry a higher sentence.

I agree, this seems to be premeditated. Verbal teasing or name callings is a national thing. I don't think the PPP revised or passed any laws against it during their 23 years in office. 

The country needs to enact some type of anti-bullyism laws so people have somewhere to turn to.  This should be pushed all the way into the schools and up through the entire society.

I don't know all the facts, nor do I condone his act, however, from what I read here it seemed like a younger guy antagonizes the old man.  Abuse of the elderly is a scourge as old as civilization itself and measures need to be taken to address.  The old man deserves to have peace and quiet without verbal or any type of harassment.

I can't help but feel sorry for this guy. The circumstances that lead to his conviction, his age and ill health. Now he got to do twenty years in a guyana prison.

You do that all the time, buddy.  Watch out there are some crazy people on GNI.