TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO: 5 MEN SENTENCED TO HANG FOR MURDER

December 18, 2019:

Five death sentences were read out on 17 December 2019 to the five men convicted of the murder of businessman Dr Eddie Koury in September 2005.
Just after 8 pm, the 12 jurors, who retired to deliberate on their verdict at 1.55 pm earlier in the afternoon, returned the guilty verdicts for Shawn James, Caleb Donaldson, Jerome Murray, Terry Moore and Robert Franklyn.
When asked if they had anything to offer to the court before sentenced, only James’ attorney Daniel Khan asked that the death sentence not be passed on his client and instead start with a 30-year prison sentence and take away the almost 14 years his client has spent in custody awaiting his trial.
The death sentence is mandatory for murder in TT and in the men’s case, they were found guilty on the joint enterprise premise and not felony murder which could have attracted a prison term.
None of the other four had anything to say before Justice Malcolm Holdip imposed the sentence of death by hanging on each of the five men.
Koury, the managing director of ISKO Enterprises Ltd, an import and distribution company based in the Macoya industrial estate, was abducted at his office on 21 September 2005.
Two days later, his headless corpse was found in central Trinidad. His head has never been found.