KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — Forty persons pleaded guilty in the Home Circuit Court and Gun Court, downtown Kingston yesterday under the Sentence Reduction Day initiative.

Fourteen of the pleas were entered in the Home Circuit Court and included three high-profile cases.

Guilty pleas were entered by Phillip Brown, the so-called ‘tarpaulin killer’, who is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend, 31-year-old Kerry-Ann Wilson, at an apartment in St Andrew last December; and Omar Graham, who is accused of killing and injuring persons at the Moncrieffe’s Patio Shop in St Andrew in March of this year.

Lorna Williamson, the woman accused of stealing a newborn baby at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) last December, also pleaded guilty.

Meanwhile, 26 people pleaded guilty to charges in the Gun Court in cases covering illegal possession of firearm and ammunition, robbery with aggravation and shooting with intent.

The Sentence Reduction Day initiative provides an opportunity for accused persons to enter a guilty plea and benefit from a maximum of up to 50 per cent reduction in their sentence, according to the provisions of the Criminal Justice (Administration) (Amendment) Act, 2015.

The Sentence Reduction Day programme, first undertaken on May 22 by the Supreme Court, through the Criminal Case Management Steering Committee, is being offered in the St Catherine Circuit Court and Gun Court today.

The initiative was implemented as a measure to reduce the large number of cases pending for trial.