Jolyan Silvera’s sentencing to be livestreamed, says Sykes
KINGSTON, Jamaica — The sentencing of former People’s National Party (PNP) Member of Parliament Jolyan Silvera will be livestreamed on March 6, Chief Justice Bryan Sykes has confirmed.
Speaking on Thursday during “Conversation with the Judiciary”, Sykes addressed questions from reporters about media access to the proceedings. He explained that the court opted to stream the event because only the sentencing phase remains.
“We are now at the point where it is just the sentencing that is left, and that process is easier to manage at this point than with the proceedings leading up to the entering of the plea of guilty,” he said.
Sykes noted that the Gun Court was established to be a fast-track court to deal with violent crimes involving the use of a firearm and was aimed at making witnesses more confident to provide the court with evidence in circumstances where their identity would not be disclosed.
“That concern of the vulnerability of witnesses still remains and is reflected in a number of legislations since then…The questions of witnesses being injured or eliminated still remain, and so we have now evolved to the point where police statements can now be put into evidence. The concern has always been about the safety of witnesses. That is something that hasn’t decreased over time,” he added.
He, however, noted that how the process is managed can be examined.
Earlier this month, prosecutors indicated that they would accept Silvera’s guilty plea for manslaughter.
With the prosecution taking that stance, the ball was left in Sykes’s court for him to decide, as trial judge, if he would accept the plea. He returned on Thursday to rule that the plea was accepted and that Silvera would be sentenced on March 6.
With the prosecution taking that stance, the ball was left in Sykes’s court for him to decide, as trial judge, if he would accept the plea. He later returned to rule that the plea was accepted and that Silvera would be sentenced on March 6.
