Barbadian sentenced to 25-years for murder

Anderson Williams’s track record certainly did not help him at his sentencing hearing at the High Court. As a teenager, the Barbadian was already a convicted robber. He served three years in prison for that crime, but that did not deter him from continuing a life of lawlessness.{{more}}

On Monday, July 27th, Justice Gertel Thom slapped Williams with a 25-year custodial sentence for causing the death of Sean Baptiste on March 1, 2007, at Ottley Hall. A 12-member mixed jury had found Williams guilty on March 9, 2009.

As the sentence was read out to him, not even the slightest bit of emotion showed on his face. He then stretched out his arms for the handcuffs to be placed on them.

In her written judgment, Thom noted that Williams was convicted for robbery and yet he still continued along that path. The judge said that although he was only 25 years old when he killed Baptiste, his age was not relevant to her consideration for sentencing.

Baptiste died of a single gunshot wound to the chest. Williams, in a statement, told police officers that the deceased drew a gun, pointed it at him and pulled the trigger, but it was jammed. Williams, who was also equipped with a weapon, pulled it out and shot Baptiste.

In the Social Inquiry report, Williams is reported as having stated that he had a six-year-old child, but Justice Thom said she found it peculiar that Williams could have a child that age since he was incarcerated in Barbados back in 2002.

Emphasizing that gun crimes are prevalent in today’s society, Justice Thom said she found that the aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating factors of the case. “I believe a sentence of 25 years would be appropriate for you,” she said.

Justice Thom then chided police officers for not producing Williams’s record. She said that it was inexcusable that the case had been heard at the last Assizes and no record had been presented to the court. Thom also implored Commissioner Keith Miller to make sure such a thing does happen again.

Lawyer Nicole Sylvester, represented Williams in the matter.(KW)