BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – CHE GREGORY SPENCER, alias ‘Duck Foot’, was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment yesterday (June 11) as comeuppance for committing the murder of Jason ‘Worlo’ Marsham on December 6, 2006.
According to evidence produced by the prosecution, Spencer shot and killed the 27-year-old just outside his Godwin Ghaut home.
He was tried during the January 2008 Criminal Assizes and was convicted by an eight-man/four-woman jury on February 3 after an approximate one and a half hours of deliberations. Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Paulina Hendrickson told the court that she was seeking the death penalty for Spencer.
A psychiatric evaluation and social inquiry report were ordered by His Lordship Justice Francis Belle before sentence was to be passed, and both prosecution and defence were to return to the court on a later date to make submissions to the court during the first phase of the sentencing hearing.
Yesterday, Justice Belle delivered his judgment and explained that the sentence should reflect the seriousness of the offence while providing a means of deterring the convicted individual from engaging in such activities again.
Justice Belle further explained that he weighed all aggravating and mitigating factors and among his findings was that Spencer is not beyond rehabilitation and is deemed a candidate for reform.
His Lordship sentenced the 42-year-old to 18 years imprisonment at Her Majesty’s Prison with hard labour.
