Man gets 8 years jail for wounding girlfriend

DESLYN FLETCHER, 24, lost one of her kidneys as a result of a stab wound inflicted by her boyfriend during Tobago Fest fete three years ago. Yesterday, a High Court judge rejected all pleas for a non-custodial sentence and jailed the man responsible for eight years with hard labour. “A non-custodial sentence is out!” Madame Justice Alice Soo Hon, presiding in the Tobago Assizes, declared. “To do so would be to endorse the kind of savagery being unleashed on women in society today. And this court must send a message to those of like mind that they will feel the full weight of the law.”

Justice Soo Hon made the comments as she imposed the jail  sentence on 28-year-old Nigel James, of Calder Hall, in Scarborough. Referring to leniency pleas from defence attorney Ronald Perry and Calder Hall resident Phyllis Jonas who testified about James’ “good character,” the judge noted: “All these factors weigh heavily in your favour. Nonetheless you have committed a serious crime. Deslyn Fletcher was near death. She is lucky to be alive. It is a miracle that she is alive. “She lost a kidney. There was nothing to substantiate this attack. It was totally unwarranted. “She was your girlfriend. You all were in an intimate relationship. You were supposed to protect and care for her.”

Justice Soo Hon said James was lucky to be found guilty of wounding with intent, and not attempted murder for which he was originally before the court. According to evidence presented by State prosecutor Nadia James, James and the victim were at Tobago Fest celebrations in the Scarborough Mall area around 3 am on September 29, 2001, when she was stabbed in the abdomen. James gave a statement in which he admitted that he had stabbed Fletcher.