Man sentenced to three years' imprisonment for manslaughter

A man who pleaded guilty to stabbing a woman to death, allegedly in self-defence, was sentenced to three years' imprisonment in the St Catherine Circuit Court on Friday.

The accused, Ricardo Leachman, was charged with the murder of  Catherine Laing in Portmore, St Catherine, but pleaded guilty last November to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Attorney Earl Hamilton made a lengthy submission before Justice Bertram Morrison for a suspended sentence.

"Judge this is a proper case of self-defence. My client was attacked and stabbed by the deceased. It was the same knife he retrieved and during a struggle she was stabbed," Hamilton said.

The judge told the defence that he would be following the sentencing guidelines.

"I completely understand, but he stabbed the victim eight times. A life is gone, there must be a proportional sentence to the offence," Morrison said.

The court was told that on the day of the incident, the accused and Laing were involved in an altercation which got physical. Both were injured, but Laing succumbed to the injuries she received.

Leach was subsequently arrested and charged with murder.

- Rasbert Turner

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