The October sessions of the Court of Appeal started today, and one of the first cases to be heard was that of 25 year-old Pedro Moran. He was convicted in November of 2015 of manslaughter for the stabbing death of 15 year-old Albert Alexander Valdez. Moran was sentenced to 12 years in prison, but the DPP's Office thinks that the trial judge was too lenient with that punishment. So, they're asking the Court of Appeal to increase it.
Albert Valdez was killed on May 22, 2011 in his home town of San Ignacio. His throat was slashed, and he suffered stab wounds to the heart and other parts of his body. In November 2015, Trial Judge Antoinette Moore found Moran not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter. After listening to the evidence of the case the trial judge was of the view that Moran did not intend to kill Valdez, when he inflicted the injuries which caused Valdez's death. After hearing his mitigation plea, the judge decided that the appropriate sentence that Moran should get is 12 years.
The DPP's Office disagreed with the sentence, and they filed an appeal which kept getting adjourned so that Moran could get an attorney. Today, however, the Appeal Court could not wait any longer, and so, they proceeded with the appeal, in which Moran had to represent himself.
Crown Counsel Kileru Awich submitted to the court to Moran's sentence was unduly lenient, and that the trial judge failed to consider the accepted prison sentence range of 15 to 25 years for manslaughter. He added that the sentence of 12 years that Moran is serving is below the accepted range, for a killing that bordered on murder.
The Court of Appeal has reserved its decision for a date to be announced.
Email
Print