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R v Gitoa [2013] SBHC 203; HCSI-CRC 447 of 2006 (17 May 2013)

IN THE HIGH COURT OF SOLOMON ISLANDS
(PALLARAS J)

Criminal Case Number 447 of 2006

R

v

Stanley GITOA

Coram: PALLARAS J
Crown: Mr M Hartmann and Mr M Kelesi
Defence: Mr S Valenitabua and Mr C Ravumay

Hearing Dates: 29 April – 13 May 2013
Verdict Delivered: 17 May 2013
Sentence Delivered: 17 May 2013

SENTENCE

1. Stanley Gitoa, you have been convicted of one count of murder and one count of attempted murder. Both of these offences you committed at night, in the company of others, while you and those others were armed with powerful weapons. You attacked a young man and a young woman and fired upon a house in which there were several children. All of the people you attacked were unarmed and completely defenceless.

2. You took upon yourself the power of life and death over others, as if you alone were the law and could dispense it wherever and whenever the mood took you. Well Mr Gitoa, the law has taken twelve years to catch up with you, but catch up with you it has.

3. You paraded around the country with your bandana and your SLR as if you were some sort of hero. You were nothing of the sort. In fact you betrayed and terrorised the very people you sought to impress. Your actions on this night show you were anything but a hero, you were a pathetic coward. You attacked and terrorised men, women and children with your guns and your gang of thugs. What a great deal of courage you and your group showed to shoot down an unarmed and defenceless young woman in her prime and to try to kill an unarmed and defenceless young man in his prime.

4. Your conduct was appalling, dishonourable and disgraceful in every sense of those words. You have caused un-imaginable pain and grief to the families of those you attacked and killed.

5. You and your ilk brought this country to its knees. So you are no hero Mr Gitoa, you are a thief. You stole something from its people that will take years to restore. You stole their peace of mind, their sense of security, their ability to walk with their families and children through their towns and villages without fear of being attacked or gunned down. That is your only achievement that is your legacy.

6. The mandatory sentence for murder is that of life imprisonment. In respect of Count 1, you are hereby sentenced to imprisonment for life.

7. The penalty for attempted murder provides for up to life imprisonment. I have given considerable thought to the appropriate penalty to impose in respect of this offence and have taken into account what little can be said on your behalf. You are still relatively young and you have a wife and a large family of 7 children. You have no previous convictions and have had a very limited education. While I am being asked to remember your family in passing sentence, it is a pity you did not remember them when committing these offences.

8. I have been referred to the case of Malefo by Counsel. In my view, that case is not comparable either in circumstance or gravity.

9. In the present case, I note that through no thanks to you, only one person lost their life in what in retrospect has to be considered something of a miracle. With several gunmen firing powerful weapons both at the people outside the house and at the house which contained a number of children, one can only imagine the carnage that might have ensued. It was your cruel and callous disregard for human life that characterises your crimes and makes this offence of attempted murder, one of the worst examples of its type.

8. For that reason, it is appropriate in my judgment to impose the maximum penalty provided by law.

9. In respect of Count 2, you are hereby sentenced to imprisonment for life.

ORDERS:

1. Count 1 – Sentenced to imprisonment for life.

2. Count 2 – Sentenced to imprisonment for life.

3. Sentences to be served concurrently.

4. Time spent in custody is to be taken into account if this becomes relevant.

THE COURT