The Queen v Jeffrey Alexander Barnes
| Jurisdiction | Cayman Islands |
| Judge | Mr. Justice Charles Quin |
| Judgment Date | 21 December 2017 |
| Court | Grand Court (Cayman Islands) |
| Docket Number | INDICTMENT NO: 0087/11-B |
| Date | 21 December 2017 |
The Hon. Mr. Justice Charles Quin Q.C.
INDICTMENT NO: 0087/11-B
IN THE GRAND COURT OF THE CAYMAN ISLANDS
CRIMINAL SIDE
Criminal Law — Conditional Release Law — Conditional Release Law Regulations — Rape — Tariff for Life Sentence — Aggravating and Mitigating factors .
DPP, Cheryl Richards, Q.C., and Snr. Crown Elisabeth Lees for the Crown
Mr. Nicholas Dixey of Nelson & Co for Defendant
Section 31 of the Criminal Procedure Code (2017 Revision) deals with the “Anonymity of complainants in rape etc. cases and states:
“31.(1) (1) After a person is accused of a rape [etc.] offence, no matter likely to lead members of the public to identify a woman as the woman azainst whom the offence is alleged to have been committed shall be published in a written publication available to the public or be broadcast, except as authorised by a direction of the court.”
For the avoidance of doubt: This Court orders that there be no identification of the Complainant in this case or anything which may lead to her identification.
I am grateful to Mme. DPP, Ms. Cheryll Richards Q.C., Snr. Crown counsel Ms. Elisabeth Lees and Defence counsel Mr. Nicholas Dixey for their well-reasoned written and oral submissions—many of which I have incorporated in this Judgment.
The prisoner, Jeffrey Barnes, was charged on Indictment Number 0087/2011-B for offences as follows:
A. Count 1: Aggravated Burglary with intent to rape, contrary to s.244 of the Penal Code (2010 Revision). The particulars of the offence are that Jeffrey Alexander Barnes, on the 20 th day of October, 2011, at [an address on Grand Cayman Cayman Islands], entered the dwelling house of [a female] as a trespasser with intent to rape the said [female], at the time of the said entry, had with him, an offensive weapon, namely a knife.
B. Count 2: Rape, contrary to s.127(1) of the Penal Code (2010 Revision). The particulars of the offence are that Jeffrey Alexander
Barnes, on the 20 th day of October, 2011, at [an address on Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands], Cayman Islands, had unlawful sexual intercourse per vagina with [a female], who, at the time of the intercourse, did not consent to it and, at the time, he knew that the said [female] did not consent to the intercourse.
C. Count 3: Rape, contrary to s.127(1) of the Penal Code (2010 Revision). The particulars of the offence are that Jeffrey Alexander Barnes, on the 20 th day of October, 2011, at [an address on Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands], had unlawful sexual intercourse per anus with [a female], who, at the time of the intercourse did not consent to it and at the time he knew that the said [female] did not consent to the intercourse.
The prisoner pleaded Not Guilty to these three counts.
The trial by Jury took place from the 25 th March 2013 to the 8 th April 2013. The prisoner was found guilty on each of the three counts and sentenced, on 23 rd September 2013 to Life Imprisonment on each count.
The prisoner appealed his Conviction to the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal (CICA). This Appeal was dismissed on the 24 th July 2015 and the Appellate Court's written reasons were released on the 20 th November 2015.
The prisoner appealed his Sentence to the CICA. This Appeal was dismissed on the 21 st April 2016.
The prisoner's date of birth is the 7 th November 1979 and he is currently 38 years of age.
The prisoner, Jeffrey Barnes, is brought before the Grand Court under s. 14 and s.23 of the Conditional Release Law (“CRL”) (2014 Revision), in order that the Court shall specify the period of incarceration the prisoner shall serve before the prisoner is eligible to be considered by the newly formed Conditional Release Board (“The Board”) for conditional release on licence.
Section 14 of the CRL deals with “Release of Life Prisoners” and reads as follows:
“14. (1) Notwithstanding any other Law to the contrary, when sentencing a prisoner to a term of imprisonment for life, the court shall specify the period of incarceration the prisoner shall serve before the prisoner is eligible to be considered for conditional release on licence, the period being such as the court considers appropriate to satisfy requirements of retribution, deterrence and rehabilitation, …”
Section 23(1) of the CRL reads:
“23. (1) …Within twenty-four months after the entry into force of this Law, the Director of Public Prosecutions shall send to the Grand Court the case records of all prisoners serving life sentences, excluding those whose applications for release on licence are pending under section 31A of the Prison Law, 1975, and the Grand Court shall, in exercise of the powers contained in section 14, pronounce in open court a period of incarceration for each prisoner, and in so doing shall exercise the powers specified in section 14 as if it were sentencing an accused who has been convicted.”
Schedule 12 of the Conditional Release of Prisoners Regulations (CRoPR) 2016, which is read with s. 14 of the CRL sets out the Sentencing Guidelines. Schedule 12 para 1(1) and paral(3) deal with Life Sentences for murder, whereas, Schedule 12 para 1(2) deals with offences other than murder (such as this case) and reads:
“1. (1)
(2) For offences other than murder, for the purposes of section 14 of the Law, the aggravating and extenuating circumstances may include all the relevant circumstances of the offence and or the offender.
(3)
Schedule 12(3) deals with previous convictions and reads:
“3. (1) In considering the seriousness of an offence committed by an offender who has one or more previous convictions, the court must treat each previous conviction as an aggravating circumstance if (in the case of that conviction) the court considers that it can reasonably be so treated having regard, in particular, to -
(a) the nature of the offence to which the conviction relates and its relevance to the current offence; and
(b) the time that has elapsed since the conviction.”
Schedule 12(5) reads:
“5. (1) Any court making an order pursuant to section 14 must state in open court, in ordinary language, its reasons for deciding on the order made.”
The maximum sentence for Rape pursuant to s.128 Penal Code, is life imprisonment. The maximum sentence for Aggravated Burglary, pursuant to s.244 of the Penal Code is also life imprisonment.
Furthermore, s.23(2) of the Penal Code, reads:
“(2) Where a person is found guilty by a court of committing a Category ‘A ‘offence for the second time, (as is the case with this prisoner) the court may in its discretion sentence that person to imprisonment for life for that second offence”
In addition, s.23(3) of the Penal Code, reads:
“(3) When determining whether it would be appropriate not to impose a life sentence, the court shall have regard to the circumstances relating to either of the offences or to the offender.”
The jury, by a unanimous verdict, found the prisoner guilty of all three counts on the 8 th April 2013.
On the 23 rd September 2013 the Grand Court imposed a life sentence on each of the three counts on the Indictment. The Court noted that it was the prisoner's second conviction for the offence of Rape. He had been sentenced in 2001 to 10 years' imprisonment for Rape and, therefore, pursuant to s.23(2) of Penal Code, upon a second conviction for a Category ‘A’ offence the Court may sentence the convicted person to life imprisonment for this offence.
The prisoner was charged with three offences which occurred on the 20 th October 2011 —namely Aggravated Burglary with intent to Rape, Rape per vagina and Rape per anus. The offences all relate to the same female at her home. The prisoner had an offensive weapon with him —namely a knife when he entered the victim's home as a trespasser.
Just prior to this attack, the victim had returned to her address sometime after 11 p.m. on the 19 th October 2011. She locked the door behind her. She left the window at the front of the apartment open —that is, with the glass window portion up, but the screen in place. When she lay on her bed she was wearing her panties, a white T-shirt, an undershirt and her bra. The last thing she recalled before falling asleep was sending a text message at 11:18 p.m.
At about 3 a.m. in the early hours of Thursday the 20 th October 2011, whilst sleeping on her back the victim felt as if she could not breathe properly and awoke to find the prisoner on top of her. The prisoner had one hand on her throat and a knife against her windpipe. The light was off. The victim began to fight. The prisoner squeezed her throat tighter and told her to stop fighting. She knew it was a man because she heard his voice. She told him she could not breathe. She begged him not to rape her as she was having her period. The prisoner said he did not care. The prisoner used the knife to cut off the victim's clothes. The victim was crying and begged him not to rape her. The prisoner told her it could have been six men so she should stop crying as it could be worse.
The prisoner took off his clothes and put on a condom. He lay on top of the victim and began kissing her. The victim closed her mouth and the prisoner told her to act like she was enjoying it.
The prisoner had the knife at her neck and the prisoner proceeded to have sexual intercourse with the victim in her vagina.
After the prisoner had raped the victim he lay down on the bed and took one of the pillows which were on the bed and placed it under his head. The prisoner told her to lie down on his arm and he proceeded to ask her, her name, where she was from and where she worked.
The victim said she told him that the thing you fear most always happens to you. The...
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