Thirty-seven-year-old Peter Dugal was on Friday sentenced to death for the 2005 murder of gas station operator, George L G Brown and his companion, Sandra Campbell.

Dugal’s 40-year-old accomplice, Donald Whyte, was sentenced to life. The men were found guilty in July for the murders which took place at Campbell’s Stillwell Road, Stony Hill home.

In handing down the sentence in the Home Circuit Court, Justice Norma McIntosh described as “sheer evil”, Dugal’s action on the morning of June 5, 2005. McIntosh styled him as “cold and calculating” and that he “deserved” to be put to death.

“It is, therefore, the penalty of this court that you suffer death,” McIntosh told Dugal after a lengthy verbal scolding. Dugal is believed to be the “trigger man”.

Dugal’s attorney, Randolph Williams, had earlier begged McIntosh not to impose the death penalty as this would only serve to “cheapen life” but McIntosh responded that it was the actions by the “remorseless” Dugal did this.

She said that Dugal, the father of a 12-month-old boy, had enough time to change his mind during his long journey from Vineyard Town to Campbell’s Stillwell Road Stony Hill home.

Whyte, too, received a verbal lashing from McIntosh who told him that he was an adult “and not a youngster who is easily led astray”. She, however, said that Whyte was not deserving of the death penalty as the evidence “does not show sufficiently” what role he played in the murders.

Whyte will have to serve 40 years of his life sentence before becoming eligible for parole.

Brown’s three adult children and other relatives were on hand for the sentencing. His daughter and another relative wept openly at the rehashing of snippets of the evidence and huddled together for support.

Campbell’s helper, Sandra Watt, was also implicated in the murder and tried along with the men but the jury was unable reach a verdict concerning her, setting the stage for a retrial. Her case will be mentioned in court on December 3.

Dugal was held several hours after the murder with the murder weapon and Whyte held shortly after. Brown’s licensed firearm was found in Whyte’s bedroom at a house along Love Lane in downtown Kingston.

A relative of Brown who was a former president of the Jamaica Gasolene Retailers Association, told the Observer that the family was now “working on forgiving” all the people who had a hand in the murder of Brown and Campbell, and was trying to move on with their lives.