Man Convicted of Manslaughter, Released Early After Serving 11 Years: Case Details

He was given a starting sentence of 20 years imprisonment. However, convicted manslayer Ian Anderson Parke is now a free man after several deductions to that sentence were made, including the more than 11 years he had already spent behind bars.

Parke, of Belair, St Philip had denied murdering Brad Gittens on September 26, 2012, but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

The court was told that the two men lived nearby and that on the day Gittens was attacked, he had just left a shop in the area and was walking along Union Hall Main Road in the direction of Sam Lord’s Castle, which took him past Parke’s home.

A statement from an eyewitness said that Parke exited his home and started cursing at Gittens, saying “I tired of you r******* threatening me. I tired of you telling me s****”. Gittens did not respond and continued walking but Parke followed. Parke’s mother was in the patio and Gittens told her to “call off her son” and she did so several times, but was ignored. Parke then cuffed Gittens, who fell. He continued hitting and kicking Gittens, who did not fight back, but repeatedly told him to stop. Parke’s father intervened and got his son off Gittens. They walked away and the eyewitness and Parke’s mother went to Gittens’ aid and tried to treat his wounds, and called for an ambulance. It was then that Parke returned with a concrete block and slammed it on Gittens’ face at least twice as the man lay on his back on the ground, shattering the block in the process. Gittens was taken to the hospital in critical condition and later passed away.

The post-mortem revealed that he died from blunt force trauma to the head and severe brain injuries.

In his interview with the police, Parke admitted to attacking Gittens, saying “He kept insulting me all the time calling me a p**** face.”

During the sentencing hearing in Supreme Court No. 2 on Monday, Justice Randall Worrell said that despite the bad blood between the two, there was no excuse for Parke’s behaviour that day.

“You are an intelligent person. If the man was troubling you, you should have called the police. There was no need to deal with it in the way you did,” the judge told the now 56-year-old, before giving the 20-year starting point.

He then deducted one year for mitigating factors, along with a one-third discount for Parke’s early guilty plea, his 4 189 days on remand and 540 days for the delay in the matter being brought to trial.

“The time left is subsumed, so therefore Mr Parke, time served. That is the sentence. I wish you all the best in the future,” the judge said.

Thanking Justice Worrell, Parke extended his sympathies to Gittens’ relatives: “I will take this time to send an apology to the relatives of the deceased. I accept my responsibility in his demise.”

King’s Counsel Michael Lashley and attorney Sade Harris represented Parke, while Principal State Counsel Olivia Davis prosecuted the case.