If the Acting Director of Public Prosecutions has his way, the man convicted of killing Tavon Alleyne will spend 43 to 45 years behind bars.
Insisting that the starting point for any person convicted by jury of murder should be “not a day less” than 40 years, Alliston Seale SC submitted to the No. 4 Supreme Court that in considering the aggravating factors of the case, Shawayne Deshawn Williams should spend between 43 to 45 years behind bars.
Earlier this year, Williams of White Hill, St Michael, was convicted of murdering Alleyne, the cousin of National Hero and international superstar Rihanna, close to his Eden Lodge, St Michael home on December 26, 2017.
“When we look at the aggravating circumstances of this matter, we look at an incident which occurred just around
7 p.m. It was an incident in which the now deceased man had just alighted from a motor vehicle. So basically, he was ambushed by the now convicted man, who shot him several times. Discharged a number of rounds of ammunition up there in Eden Lodge, causing persons in and around the house to shelter in place,” Seale stated.
The senior counsel pointed out that while the deceased may not have been the intended target, the shooting had been done in revenge because the evidence showed that Williams had been shot prior to Alleyne’s death.
“How can we have a society that’s operating like this? I am shot sometime before, and from the facts, I don’t even go to the hospital. I get somebody who works at the hospital to fix me up so to speak . . . . Now, why would you not want to report to the police you being shot other than you were going to deal with it yourself? Again, that’s a society now that’s seemingly commonplace. That people are injured and not willing to give statements to the police but not because they have forgiven anyone, but because they intend to deal with the matter themselves at a later date. So we now have become basically the Wild West where people carry out their own vendettas.”
He argued that the only way to deal with perpetrators of such crimes was to ensure that they served lengthy prison terms.
“The only way that we can say a resounding ‘no’ that Barbados will not tolerate this, is that if you are prepared to have a gun or use a gun, you are prepared to spend a significant part of your life in prison once convicted,” the acting DPP said, while highlighting that the firearm had not been recovered.
In her submissions, defence attorney Senior Counsel Angella Mitchell-Gittens noted similar aggravating factors, admitting that Williams’ pre-sentencing report had been unfavourable deeming him at high risk of re-offending.
She noted that mitigating in his favour was that her client was 30-years-old and could therefore still be reformed and rehabilitated, had been young at the time of the offence, and had been considered industrious, having worked up until the time he was incarcerated. The defence counsel asked the court to balance these matters when determining an appropriate sentence.
Asked if he had anything to say to the court, Williams said, “I am sorry a life has been lost but I still maintain my innocence.”
Justice Laurie-Ann Smith-Bovell set sentencing for January 16, 2026.
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