Runako Lee Omar Husbands Sentenced to 14 Years for Manslaughter in Terrence Papa T Phillips' Death

Runako Lee Omar Husbands has been sentenced to 14 years behind bars for taking Terrence Papa T Phillips’ life 12 years ago.

However, after several deductions were made, including the 1 021 days he had spent on remand and the delay in the matter going to trial, he will spend just over seven years in Dodds Prison.

Justice Randall Worrell handed down the judgement on the No. 1 Chapel Gap, Paynes Bay, St James resident, in the No. 2 Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Husbands had been charged with murder in Phillips’ shooting death but in March this year, a jury found him guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Phillips died as a result of hemorrhagic shock caused by a gunshot wound to the chest on August 12, 2011.

During the trial, Husbands said it was never his intention to harm Phillips, only defend himself.

In a prepared statement to the court, he said: “The gun went off when we were struggling for Papa T’s gun. I did not have a gun on that day. I did not intend to shoot or harm him. I was frightened and trying to protect myself.”

In delivering sentence on Tuesday, Justice Worrell said that the guidelines for the starting point for manslaughter, where the aggravating circumstances of the offence outweighed the mitigating circumstances, was between 10 to 15 years. He said the court could not forget that a firearm was used, and therefore gave his starting point as 14 years, which was reduced by another year due to the jury’s decision not to find him guilty of murder.

Justice Worrell also outlined several mitigating factors that were taken into consideration, including Husbands’ age at the time of the incident, his remorse, his positive presentence report and that he was well-spoken of within his community. The sentence was reduced to 12 years.

Taking into account the nine-and-a-half-year delay in the case being heard in the High Court, the judge gave a further deduction of 755 days and then discounted the almost three years Husbands spent in custody.

“By my calculations, 2 604 days are the days which remain, so from today’s date, Mr Husbands will be the court’s sentence. In addition to the sentence, we indicate that you undergo a period of anger management at the prison,” Justice Worrell stated.

Husbands was represented by Senior Counsel Angella Mitchell-Gittens and Kristen Vanderpool, while Acting Principal State Counsel Oliver Thomas and State Counsel Anastacia McMeo prosecuted the matter.