Ifill ordered to pay $ 30 000 to stabbing victim

A St George man who repeatedly stabbed another man with scissors during an altercation over four years ago has been ordered to pay his victim $30 000 in compensation.

Highlighting the “life-threatening and life-altering” wounds inflicted on the victim, Madam Justice Laurie-Ann Smith-Bovell also sentenced Willis Andrew Ifill to a prison term of two years, 215 days for unlawfully and maliciously inflicting serious bodily harm on Shawn Hunte on September 12, 2019. However, she suspended the sentence for three years and told the convicted man that if he found himself back before the court during that period, he would be made to serve that time.

According to the facts, Hunte and several other persons were in an area called ‘The Corner’ when he and another man had an altercation. The other man left the area.

Sometime after, Ifill arrived on the scene. He put his arm around the complainant’s neck and told him “You feel you is a bully”. Hunte pulled away, and the two men began to quarrel before the argument turned physical. During the fight, Ifill pulled out a pair of scissors and stabbed Hunte in the face, neck, shoulder, chest and groin.

Hunte was transported to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in critical condition and spent over two weeks in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit.

Handing down the sentence on Friday in Supreme Court No. 4, Justice Smith-Bovell highlighted the victim impact statement, which pointed out that Hunte has had 18 surgeries due to wounds sustained in the incident, suffers from impaired vision in one eye, and is no longer able to ply his trade as a painter.

Ifill previously apologised for his actions, saying they had not been intentional and that he was sorry for what Hunte was going through.

Giving a starting point of three years, the judge said the fact that the now-convicted man was armed with scissors and had the weapon in a public place where other persons were gathered, the number of stab wounds inflicted, and the seriousness of the complainant’s injuries were aggravating factors of the offence. Meanwhile, the lone mitigating factor was that his actions were not premeditated.

With the aggravating factors outweighing the mitigating factors, the starting point was adjusted upward by two years.

There were no aggravating factors found regarding the offender, while those mitigating were his full cooperation with the investigation, lack of previous convictions, low risk of reoffending and his employment status. A deduction of one year was made, along with the one-third discount for his early guilty plea and time spent on remand.

Submitting that the convicted man appeared not to pose any threat to society, Justice Smith-Bovell applied Section 6 of the Penal Reform Act and suspended his sentence.

She said that due to the circumstances of the incident and the nature of the injuries sustained, it was necessary to compensate the complainant $30 000. Of the amount, $9 000 had to be paid forthwith, with the balance due by November 30, 2024.

“Should you fail to compensate the complainant by the said date, you shall serve two years, 215 days in prison. That is the order of the court,” Justice Smith-Bovell said.

State Counsel Paul Prescod prosecuted the matter while attorney Faith Greaves represented Ifill.