Men Convicted of Shawn Menzies’ Murder Get Life Sentences

Today, two men who were convicted last month of the 2018 murder of Bowen and Bowen employee, Shawn Menzies were sentenced to life in prison. Eric Miranda and Jeffery Contreras listened as Justice Ricardo O’Neil Sandcroft sentenced them to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole until they have served thirty years. The men have been on remand for the past three years, so they will need to serve twenty-seven more years before they can apply for parole. In delivering his sentence, Justice Sandcroft lamented that he must send two young, vibrant men to jail, but that he must strike a balance because a life has been lost. The sensational murder trial was one that saw many hurdles and barriers for Crown Counsel Riis Cattouse, whose main witness, Ivan Jones, was also murdered days after testifying in the trial. During a mitigation plea today, both convicted men spoke. Miranda’s last words were “I have changed my life. I am now a Christian. I completed high school and got my diploma in prison. I graduated at the top of my class”. According to Miranda, he is now a change man and he is sorry that this has happened to him. In his view, he followed bad company and ended up down this path. Contreras had little to say; only that he is sorry and apologized to the family of the deceased, offering to them his condolences.