Tonight, Justice Antoinette Moore is carefully considering what sentence she should pass on the convicted murderers, William "Danny" Mason, Ashton Vanegas, Keiron Fernandez, Terrence Fernandez, and Ernest Castillo. And she will hand down that sentence tomorrow morning.
And that's after 2 consecutive days, during which the court has been examining their characters via witness statements. In that time, the judge has been presented with a large volume of information to consider why she should or shouldn't be lenient on the defendants who she found guilty of 2016 beheading murder of Pastor Lewellyn Lucas.
Today's hearing focused mainly on Mason's character witnesses, his statement from the dock, and the input from the Director of Public Prosecutions, Cheryl-Lynn Vidal.
Mason's first witness, a businessman from Canada, gave testimony via Skype that he met Mason 15 years ago, and that they did business together. He told the court that the Mason he knows is an honest person, and of good character.
Mason's other witness was a Guyanese national. He told the court that he has known Mason for about 20 years, as the manager of Mason's family Trust. He asserted to the court that Mason is a good and kind person, who can sometimes be too generous.
When he was asked about the heinous murder that Mason now stands convicted of, the witness said that he is still unable to accept that Mason had a hand in it.
He said quote, "The Danny I know I can't believe was involved in this." End quote.
After that witness, Mason himself gave a statement to the court from the dock. Daniel Ortiz was in court to hear it, and here's his report:
In his statement from the dock, Mason talked about his earlier years as a child, his upbringing, and his travels all around the world. He claimed to have visited over 40 countries, where he got to enjoy the cultural diversity. He then talked about what he describes as a sort of missionary work all over the world in the medical field.
Focusing on Belize, he said that he came here due to the encouragement of his wife, who had clients in the healthcare system. According to Mason, he has generously donated medical equipment to different Belizean healthcare providers.
He said that he was one of the founders of a search and rescue organization, and was part of teams that "saved many lives" in different parts of the country.
Mason added that in the course of his philanthropic work in Belize, he "met many ministers", and that he has worked with the different law enforcement agencies.
Mason told the court, quote, "I have an unblemished character in this country… I don't think that anyone in this country can say that I have been a bad person to them… I challenge anyone to face me and say that I have been a bad person… I know I'm a good person" End quote.
And addressing the murder of Pastor Lewellyn Lucas, Mason said, "I am deeply saddened by what has happened… I can't imagine what the family is going through." End quote.
He then asked the judge for leniency.
At the conclusion of Mason's dock statement, the DPP made her submissions to the court, which included brief discussions about 3 victim impact statements from Pastor Lue's family and friends. She was able to describe how the murder of Pastor Lue has deeply affected his loved-ones and the significance of his tragic loss as a community-minded individual.
She then focused on the aggravating factors against all 5 convicted men, and she stressed that none of them ought to enjoy the benefits of remorse as a mitigating factor. From her perspective, the defendants have expressed sympathy and not remorse. They have all empathized with Pastor Lucas' family without accepting guilt, even though they've been convicted.
At the end of today's hearing, we got a chance to speak with Defence attorney Norman Rodriguez about the DPP's point about the remorse issue. Here's what he said:
Norman Rodriguez, Attorney for Ashton Vanegas
"It is a presentation of the person's history to, by the defence, so that the court can see the person other than just the convict before it sentences. When you present mitigation, you're allowing the court to see the person's history from a different angle, the environment the person grew up in, the nurturing that he or she had so that the court or the jury, if it is a jury, does not see a murderer solely in this case. You know when you see a murderer; you know the way you feel. You want a life for a life. But if you are able to see how the person progressed through life and you are able to understand that there may be factors that could have contributed to this person being in this kind of circumstances, then of course that may soften up the position that the court takes so that it prompts it to give a lower sentence. We don't know if that will happen, because the D.P.P. has performed her role and she has addressed the aggravating factors, the mitigating factors."
Reporter
"Would you accept that there is a different wrong definition used for the expression or remorse by your clients and the other accused who expressed remorse?"
Norman Rodriguez, Attorney for Ashton Vanegas
"I disagree with the D.P.P. in her submission that my client declared his innocence. He did not declare his innocence."
Reporter
"But he did not accept guilty either."
Norman Rodriguez
"He expressed remorse and the D.P.P. explained to the court what she believes. The court will have to make its decision on that. I am not going to say that he did or did not. Expressing remorse is a mitigating factor, it has always been in law. But like I said it is left to the court to decide what it interprets from what each person says."
Justice Moore has adjourned the sentencing hearing until tomorrow morning when she will announce her final decision on how many years the 5 convicted defendants will have to serve in jail.
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