Off from death row, killer awaits new sentence

The Belize Supreme Court is hearing an unprecedented case, that of Patrick Reyes, a man spared from death row by the Privy Council. Reyes shot and killed husband and wife Wayne and Evelyn Garbutt on April sixteenth, 1997, over a land dispute in Teakettle Village. He was convicted on two counts of murder and sentenced to death on each count. His appeal against the conviction was dismissed by the Court of Appeal and his petition for special leave to appeal against the conviction was also dismissed by the Privy Council. However, the Privy Council did grant the appellant special leave to raise two constitutional arguments that were not advanced in the courts. The first and main argument challenged the constitutionality of the mandatory death penalty on the grounds that it violates the constitutional ban on inhumane and degrading punishment. The Privy Council agreed and gave judgement on March eleventh saying that Reyes’ appeal against the sentence should be upheld and the sentence of death quashed. The council also said the case should be remitted to the Supreme Court of Belize in order that a judge may pass an appropriate sentence having heard relevant evidence. Today Edward Fitzgerald, counsel for Reyes at the Privy Council, came to argue that case for leniency toward his client before Chief Justice Abdulai Conteh. Seven character witnesses were called to show that Reyes is a man who has changed his ways. Among them was former Superintendent of Prisons Bernard Adolphus, who said Reyes was a model prisoner who is remorseful and could be reformed. Fitzgerald, for his part, submitted that the death penalty should be reserved for extreme cases, and this is not one of them. He told the court his client is a good neighbour, a former village councillor and a family man, and it is against this backdrop that his new sentence should be considered. The trial continues tomorrow.