Convicted killer to challenge sentence in October

Convicted killer Terry Cassius Seale will appear before the Barbados Court of Appeal in four months’ time to challenge his 18-year prison sentence.

Seale, of Groves Crescent, St George, was sentenced to that time in jail back in December 2018, for killing his former lover, Moreta Forde.

His appeal reached the case management stage today when it was called before Justices of Appeal Francis Belle, Margaret Reifer and Jefferson Cumberbatch.

Appearing before the court during a virtual sitting this morning, attorney-at-law Dennis Headley informed the panel of Appeal Judges that Seale had agreed for him to continue as his defence counsel in the matter. The lawyer also said he had received the formal go-ahead from Community Legal Services to appear on the appellant’s behalf and was now in possession of the record of the 2018 proceedings in Seale’s case.

Given that update, Justice Belle ordered that the appellant file and serve his written submissions on the appeal on or before July 20. The respondents, represented by Acting Senior Crown Counsel Rudolph Burnett and Crown Counsel Romario Straker, were given until August 31 to file and serve their reply.

The hearing date, when oral submissions will be made to the Court of Appeal judges, has been set for October 12.

Seale, a tractor operator, is appealing the sentence imposed on him by Madam Justice Jacqueline Cornelius in 2018.

Seale, who is in his late 50s, had been charged with murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of Forde, a former Cable and Wireless worker. She was killed between October 30 and 31, 2014.

While the maximum penalty for manslaughter is life in prison, Justice Cornelius said she believed a starting point of 25 years was reasonable and added a further two years owing to the aggravating factors.

At the time of sentencing, Seale had already spent 1,776 days on remand, which meant he had a further 4,794 days remaining in his sentence.

The judge gave Seale a one-third discount for his guilty plea, bringing the sentence down to 18 years at Her Majesty’s Prison Dodds.