Carter jailed for stabbing father

Clifton Wilfred Carter will spend three years in Dodds Prison after being unable to compensate his father, whom he stabbed in the stomach nearly a decade ago on their shared birthday.

Madam Justice Laurie-Ann Smith Bovell initially gave the Sunbury, St Philip resident a starting sentence of six years, adding one year for aggravating factors. After the judge deducted time for his early guilty plea, delays in bringing the matter to trial, and his time spent on remand, Carter was left with a sentence of two years and 355 days for unlawfully and maliciously wounding Clyton Olton on July 17, 2016.

He had pleaded not guilty to the more serious charge of unlawfully wounding Olton, with intent to do him serious bodily harm, or to maim, disfigure, or disable him on that same date.

As an alternative to imprisonment, Justice Smith-Bovell ordered Carter to pay his father $10 000 in compensation—half payable immediately and the remainder by November 29. However, after Carter told the No. 4 Supreme Court he was unable to pay, he was taken into custody to begin serving his sentence.

Attorney-at-law Simon Clarke represented Carter, while State Counsel Paul Prescod prosecuted the matter.

The court heard earlier that on the mentioned date, Carter went to his father’s house to use the microwave, but could not enter as the back door was locked, which annoyed him. He went to the front of the house where his father was, and they began to argue. Both men armed themselves—Carter with a knife and Olton with a cutlass. Carter stabbed his father in the stomach.

Olton was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for treatment, and Carter later confessed his actions to police during an interview.