UPDATED: 12 plead guilty on sentence discount day in Kingston
Published:Monday | May 22, 2017 | 12:00 AM
Despite a backlog of more than 700 cases, only one person appeared before the Home Circuit Court in downtown Kingston today to take advantage of the sentence reduction day.
Eleven other accused pleaded guilty before the Gun Court.
Some 20 people had made an application to enter guilty plea but nine of them changed their minds.
Sentence Reduction Day is among a number of initiatives being implemented by the Court Management Service to ease the backlog of cases clogging the court system.
It guarantees a significant reduction in sentence for accused persons who plead guilty before the Home Circuit and Gun courts.
Nasseine Mardner was the sole person to take advantage of the offer in the Home Circuit Court this morning.
He pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter in the November 2011 killing of Kemesha Matthews.
He will be sentenced on July 3 and his bail was extended.
A total of 707 cases were listed for trial when the current Easter term of the Home Circuit Court began last month.