DPP: No grounds to appeal Rodney’s sentence

WESTERN BUREAU:

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Paula Llewellyn says her office would have no grounds to appeal the suspended sentence handed down to Delroy Rodney, whose dangerous driving caused the deaths of five persons in 2023.

Rodney, who was driving a taxi with all the victims on board when he crashed, was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment on each of the five counts of causing death by dangerous driving, in the Westmoreland Circuit Court last week. All sentences are running concurrently, suspended for three years. He was also restricted from holding a driver’s licence for three years and was ordered to pay $500,000 to the relatives of the victims on each count.

But the victims’ relatives were disappointed with the verdict, saying the penalty was tantament to allowing Rodney to escape accountability.

Speaking with The Gleaner on Thursday, Llewellyn said that the ruling by High Court Justice Courtney Daye had a firm basis in case law.

“When we look at the case law for causing death by dangerous driving, if you plead guilty, you almost never get a custodial sentence. When you look at the sentencing guidelines and the case law, we would not be on strong footing for an appeal, because it would be within the sentencing range, given the fact that the man pleaded guilty,” said Llewellyn.

“For the prosecution to appeal, as a matter of practical strategy and the public interest, you really only appeal in strong, viable matters because you are going against the normal ordinary practice, where it is the accused who would appeal. Because the man pleaded guilty, you have to give credit for the plea of guilty,” added Llewellyn.

At the sentencing hearing, Justice Daye noted that the maximum sentence for the offence is five years’ imprisonment. He acknowledged that Rodney would get a reduced sentence because of his early guilty plea, his expression of remorse, and his willingness to compensate the victims’ families.

However, Sabrina Marshall, whose mother, 54-year-old Janet Thompson, of McAlpine district in Westmoreland, was one of the five victims, was far from satisfied with the judge’s decision.

“For a case such as this, that has been in the media from the inception, and at the end, this is the verdict, I think it is in the best interest of the country for the DPP to step in and intervene,” said Marshall.

The other victims of the November 13, 2023 crash were 15-year-old Lavecia Forrester and her 39-year-old mother, Petrina Wallace; as well as Oneil Allen and his mother, 65-year-old Angela Samuels.

“After that sentence was handed down, the outrage in my community was out of this world,” said Marshall.

Llewellyn expressed a willingness to meet with the families of the victims to explain Rodney’s sentencing and the case law regarding the ruling.

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com