20 years for Silvera
Former MP to spend at least 13 years behind bars for killing wife
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Former People’s National Party (PNP) Member of Parliament Jolyan Silvera has been sentenced to 20 years and 10 months in prison for the November 10, 2023 killing of his wife, Melissa.
The sentence was handed down by Chief Justice Bryan Sykes in the Supreme Court on Friday.
Silvera was sentenced to 20 years for manslaughter and 20 years and 10 months for using a firearm to commit manslaughter. The sentences are to run concurrently.
He will have to serve 13 years before he is eligible for parole.
Silvera, who shed copious tears at the January 12, 2024 funeral for his wife in the same church where they wed, was arrested and charged with her murder six days later.
After professing his innocence for some two years, Silvera shocked the nation on February 2, 2026 when he entered guilty pleas to the lesser charges of manslaughter and using a firearm to commit manslaughter.
READ: From vows to verdict
