Jah Rastafari Jones has had a troubled past and needs psychological and drug counselling before he can fully reintegrate into society, his defence attorney has submitted.
However, said the prosecution, Jones needed to stop using his past as a crutch and an excuse for committing crime.
The two submissions were made before Justice Michelle Weekes when Jones, 21, of no fixed place of abode, reappeared in the No 2 Supreme Court last Friday.
The young man had pleaded guilty to stealing BDS$25 000 and US$2 000, belonging to hawker Ermaline Powlett, on May 26, 2016.
“I am willing to change,” Jones told the court.
The matter has been adjourned without a date set for sentencing.
Attorney Arthur Holder, who represented Jones, said the youngster would have witnessed a high level of abuse meted out by his father towards his mother in what he described as a dysfunctional family.
He submitted his client was a reflection of a sordid past. “Society has to understand what he has been through and I am asking the court to consider these issues.”
He submitted Jones would benefit from psychological and substance abuse counselling in a structured environment to prepare him for a successful re-entry into society.
But Crown Counsel Oliver Thomas said Jones had stolen from a hawker who was saving to renovate her house. She had since died.
The prosecutor said the thief was at the crossroads of his life and to let him out might “very well jeopardise his progress”.
“Yes, he has had a difficult life but others have also, including his siblings. It’s all about choices,” Thomas said.
“He cannot continue using these issues as a crutch. He must be held responsible for his actions. He can’t come all the time and say ‘please forgive me’,” Thomas told the court, as he suggested a starting point for sentencing should be six years. (HLE)