A High Court Judge has sentenced Tyreke Benskin to life imprisonment for the unprovoked slaying of a young man six years ago, describing him as “a clear and present danger” to society. He must serve a minimum of 22 years before becoming eligible for release.
Justice Laurie-Anne Smith-Bovell handed down the sentence after considering psychiatric and psychological reports which identified Benskin’s impulsivity, violent tendencies, and inability to manage anger.
“Having considered both the psychiatric and psychological reports, which speak to your impulsivity, your resorting to violence in response to any perceived wrong and your inability to manage your anger, I am of the view that there is significant risk that you will commit violence offences in the future… I am satisfied based on the aforementioned reasons and the aggravated factors that you represent a clear and present danger to members of society and you are too dangerous to be released back into society without any supervision by the state,” she said.
At the sentencing hearing in the No. 4 Supreme Court, the judge started with a 40-year term for Benskin’s murder of 22-year-old Shakeem Holder on February 2, 2020, increasing it by two years for aggravating factors. The sentence was reduced after accounting for the one-third discount for his early guilty plea and the six years he spent on remand.
The court heard that Holder was fatally stabbed in the neck on Promenade Road, Tudor Bridge, St Michael. Eyewitnesses said Benskin jumped from behind a tent, grabbed Holder from behind, and stabbed him several times before fleeing.
When questioned by police, the then 17-year-old resident of Promenade Road, Bush Hall, initially claimed he and the deceased had been in a scuffle, but eyewitness accounts and surveillance footage contradicted that version.
Justice Smith-Bovell noted as aggravating factors Benskin’s possession of a knife, his attempt to destroy evidence by discarding the weapon and his clothing, and the fact that the offence was unprovoked and committed in public. She also pointed to him being deemed at a high risk of reoffending, his offences against discipline whilst in prison and his escape from the penal institution.
“Your behaviour since on remand in what one would consider a controlled environment has indicated to the court that you appear to take some satisfaction in violent behaviour and appear to be making little attempt to modify or improve your antisocial behaviours, which reinforces the court’s position of you continuing to be a threat to society,” the judge added.
Mitigating was his expression of remorse, his previously clean record and his youth.
Benskin was also sentenced to two years for escaping lawful custody on September 21, 2023, while on remand at Dodds Prison. During an island-wide power outage, he had pushed another inmate aside as his cell door was opened, fled into another room, evaded capture despite pursuit by officers, scaled multiple fences, and escaped into nearby bushland. He was recaptured later that evening.
After his guilty plea and 906 days of pre-trial custody on that matter were taken into account, he was considered to have served his sentence at the rising of the court.
Acting Director of Public Prosecutions Alliston Seale SC and State Counsel Paul Prescod prosecuted the cases, while Andrew Pilgrim SC and attorney Leslie Cargil-Straker represented Benskin.
(JB)
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