BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - STATEMENTS of regret flowed from the mouth of murder-convicted Wycliffe ‘Wicked’ Liburd yesterday (Oct. 1), as he asked the court to exercise mercy in sentencing him.
Liburd was convicted of committing the April 18, 2008 murder of Charles ‘Abaloo’ Matthew of McKnight.
Evidence presented in the case revealed that Liburd approached Matthew and had asked him for a sum of money that was owed to him. The evidence further suggested that Liburd was not paid the money and proceeded to shoot Matthew. The wounded man’s attempt to escape the attack was unsuccessful, as he was pursued by Liburd and short several more times.
The ordeal, witnesses explained, began on Lower Shaw Avenue and ended at the street’s junction with Cunningham Street.
At the end of the trial, Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Paulina Hendrickson informed the court that she would be seeking the death penalty as punishment for Liburd’s deed.
His sentencing hearing began last Thursday (Sept. 24) with his mother, Gwenneth Williams, recounting the difficulties she faced raising her son, who is the fifth of seven children. She told the court that she tried her best to raise Liburd in a “godly home”, but her efforts were frustrated by his father, Paul ‘Rocket’ Liburd.
“I am deeply, profoundly and sincerely sorry for what transpired on that day,” Liburd confessed to the court yesterday, adding that he sympathizes with Matthew’s family, especially his mother, knowing that “it is not easy when someone is murdered.”
“I am also contrite that Abaloo had to be murdered in that manner and at that age. I am also contrite that the attacker and Abaloo didn’t reason differently. I am contrite for being found guilty of the crime. I am contrite that the whole situation did not turn out differently.
“There is nothing I can say to bring back Charles,” Liburd continued. “I am not supporting the act and I am against it. I am sorry for the whole ordeal. I am aware that steps have to be taken. Things have to be done and there is nothing I can do.”
The convict asked the court to have mercy on him in passing sentence and restated that he is sorry that he was charged and convicted.
Liburd’s defence counsel, Vincent Warner, in presenting his mitigating arguments suggested to the court that not only does his client have “an unqualified right to life”, but that the death penalty should be meted out only for murders that are of an exceptional and extreme nature.
He argued that Matthew’s murder does not fit that cast, but rather “was one in the ordinary nature of things in St. Kitts-Nevis”.
Warner further submitted that Liburd is “not a hardened criminal who needs to be gotten rid of by the death penalty”, but rather is a “possible candidate for reform and rehabilitation”.
Trial and sentencing judge His Lordship Justice Francis Belle reserved his decision but made reference to the case of Daniel Dick Trimmingham vs. The Queen, in which the Privy Council reversed the death sentence of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines High Court after it was upheld by the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal.
In that case, the accused robbed an elderly man with the aid of a gun and proceeded to cut his throat with his own machete before removing his head from his body. The perpetrator continued by removing the dead man’s trousers, in which he wrapped the severed head and later discarded it.
The trial judge ruled that the murder fell within the category of the “rarest of rare”, a sentiment which was also expressed by the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal.
At the Privy Council level, however, it was ruled that, although cold-blooded, disgusting and brutal, the case did not fall within the category of the “rarest of rare”.
His Lordship, Justice Francis Belle noted that in regard to Liburd’s sentencing, consideration must be given to whether or not his crime was premeditated and of the “rarest of rare”.
Liburd will be brought back to court on October 22, when his fate would be revealed.
