Windhoek
The defense counsel of a man convicted of intentionally killing his live-in girlfriend in Gobabis with a panga wants the court to be lenient on the killer.
Boris Isaacks asked the court to sentence his client, Joel Petrus, 34, to a term of imprisonment of no more than 20 years for the conviction of murder with direct intent. Petrus was convicted in April by High Court Judge Alfred Siboleka for intentionally hacking Maria Erastus to death over a suspicious text message on her phone.
Isaacks asked the court to sentence Petrus leniently to allow him to return to society a rehabilitated man and to look after his daughter. “While society expects the courts to punish offenders, it does not expect the courts to destroy an offender,” Isaacks said during submissions on the sentence to be imposed.
According to Isaacks, his client deserves mercy from the court, as he had publicly apologised to the family of the deceased, the court and indeed the entire Namibian nation for his crime.
During mitigation of sentence, Petrus, who admitted to striking the deceased with the panga, said he did not intend to kill her and told the court he regrets his actions.
“I feel very bad for what I have done and want to ask forgiveness from the family of the deceased, the court and the entire Namibian nation” Petrus said.
Isaacks told the court his client is a first offender and the father of three children, of which the youngest is only five years old and. While he leaves the sentence in the hands of the court, Isaacks prayed for a sentence that would allow Petrus to become a valuable member of society again.
Deputy Prosecutor General Jackson Kuutondokwa told the court that while the court has various options in deciding on a sentence for an accused it must look at which factor carries the most weight.
He said the court must look at the personal circumstances of the accused, the nature of the crime, the interest of society, as well as the interest of justice. The sentence must be tailored in such a way that it is a true reflection of the objectives of punishment, which he said is to hurt an accused to such an extent that he will not offend again.
In the current instance, Kuutondokwa said, the aggravating factors by far outweigh the mitigating circumstances.
“Society has been calling for a stop to violence against women and children,” he said and added that the present murder was committed in a domestic setting. It was a senseless killing for no reason at all, Kuutondokwa said and asked “does cheating give a license to take someone’s life” and answered it himself: “No, it does not.”
He said the court must consider the weapon used and the part of the body that was struck – the neck, which is the most vulnerable part. He said the remorse of Petrus is a mere afterthought that only happened after his conviction.
“Can an accused commit the most horrendous crime and then apologise in court for forgiveness?” Kuutondokwa asked. He said the murder was committed in a brutal and callous manner.
The victim was beaten with a dangerous weapon and left alone gravely injured and without help, he said and continued that this show Petrus did not care what happened to her. He asked the court to impose a sentence in accordance with manner in which the crime was committed.
Judge Siboleka reserved the sentence until 09h00 on August 22. Petrus remains in custody at the Windhoek Correctional Facility.