Teen placed on $20,000 bond for manslaughter

A LAVENTILLE teen who pleaded guilty to manslaughter, was yesterday placed on a bond of $20,000 because of his potential to make a positive contribution to society. Praises were heaped on the head of 19-year-old Keston Edwards by Madame Justice Paula Mae Weekes, his attorney and several other people with whom the teen had interacted during his lifetime. In handing down sentence, Weekes said she had considered all the good reports that had been submitted on behalf of the former Tranquillity Government Secondary student. The fact that he was considered a role model in his school and neighbourhood and his good, positive behaviour, the judge said, showed he could make a contribution to society despite his upbringing in a socially deprived environment.

Weekes said although a life had been taken and he was deserving of punishment, she believed he had been the target of the robbery because he was “thrifty,” and the unfortunate loss of life did not occur because he was a menace to society. The judge then admonished, “You, Keston Edwards, and other young people do not become vigilantes and take reprisals into your own hands. You are a young man and the circumstances of your actions were extreme, so I am entering you into a $20,000 bond for three years.” Edwards, of Straker Village at Picton Road, was charged with the murder of another teenager, Kwesi “Chin” Kemkaran, on February 16 2002. Kemkaran, 19, was shot at Fort Picton, Picton Road, Laventille. Edwards, who had been remanded at the Youth Training Centre  (YTC), had been tried for the murder before Justice Melville Baird in November, 2003.

However, Baird was forced to order a retrial when the jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision. During his detention at YTC, Edwards had continued with his studies and had been successful in his CXC examinations. When the matter again came up on October 6 2004, Edwards had changed his plea to guilty to manslaughter. The court accepted the plea on the basis of provocation. The State’s case was that Edwards was liming with some friends at the Fort, when two men approached them. His friends ran off and a struggle ensued between him and the men, during which Kemkaran was shot dead. Edwards was represented by attorneys Ulric Skerritt and Dawn Mohan. Attorneys Joy Balkaran and Jeron Joseph represented the State.