The Queen v Joshua Mitchell
| Jurisdiction | Grenada |
| Judge | Aziz, J. |
| Judgment Date | 11 April 2017 |
| Neutral Citation | GD 2017 HC 4 |
| Docket Number | CLAIM NO. GDAHCR2015/0042 |
| Court | High Court (Grenada) |
| Date | 11 April 2017 |
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF GRENADA
AND THE WEST INDIES ASSOCIATED STATES
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
CLAIM NO. GDAHCR2015/0042
Ms. Crisan Greenidge & Mr. Howard Pinnock for the Prosecution
Mr. Ashley Bernadine for the Defendant
Criminal Law - Sentencing — Non Capital Murder — S.230 and S230 B(1) Criminal Code as enacted by the Criminal Code (Amendment) Act 2012 — Juvenile Offenders — Offender Bullying — Mental health — Mental disorders and treatment — Counselling — Social services counselling and support — Social services an integral part of the criminal justice system — Appropriate institution for housing young offenders — Aggravating and Mitigating Factors — Duty to ensure that young and vulnerable prisoners are kept safe.
On the 24 th November 2015 the defendant Mr. Joshua Mitchell pleaded guilty to the offence of non-capital murder by intentionally causing the death of his grandmother Doril Mitchell. A social inquiry report was ordered along with a psychiatric report for the sentence hearing. The sentence date was fixed for hearing but unfortunately had to be adjourned on a couple of occasions for clarification from medical experts, and ill health of prosecution and defence counsel. The adjournments were in no way attributed to the defendant.
The deceased Doril Mitchell, the defendant's grandmother lived with her son Donald Mitchell, downstairs his garage in Birchgrove, St Andrews. The defendant also resided with his grandmother until the middle of 2014, whereupon he was asked to leave as it was felt that he was not getting on with his grandmother. The defendant would continue to visit the deceased. The deceased Doril Mitchell was seen over the course of the 14 th and 15 th November 2014 by her son Donald and granddaughter Jacqueline Mitchell. On the 16 th November 2014, the deceased's son, Donald, went to visit his mother. On his arrival he called out to his mother and got no response. He then went to the back of the house, opened the door and went inside. Donald had to use the flashlight on his phone to shed light in the room as it was dark. Donald discovered his mother lying on her mattress on the floor which was not unusual. He thought his mother had died in her sleep and he called the undertaker. When the undertakers arrived, Donald went to the front door and found it to be unlocked, they entered the house and it was at that time that the deceased was observed to be sleeping in a position that she never does, she was not wearing any underwear and her t-shirt was pulled up under her breast. They also noticed that there was blood on the ground and her left eye was swollen as well as being black and blue.
The police arrived and it was then that Detective Constable Pierre from the CID noticed the deceased and her position, so he called the district medical officer Dr. Johnson.
Dr. Keith Johnson attended at the scene and examined the deceased. He noted the deceased lying with her face upwards with her clothing partially lifted but lower clothing completely off. The following injuries were noted:
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i. Soft tissue swelling around the left eye,
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ii. A puncture wound behind the left ear lobe approximately 1/4 inch long,
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iii. Five digital indentations of the anterior and lateral aspect of the neck,
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iv. Swollen tongue with bloody secretions oozing from the mouth,
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v. A small tear of the vulva with bleeding from the vagina.
Dr. Johnson noted that there was no sign of life and pronounced that Doril Mitchell was dead.
On the 17 th November 2014, Dr. Mabel Leon Alvarez carried out an autopsy on the 84 year old deceased and completed a post mortem report with her findings which were:
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i. Hematoma 6 x 3 cm on the left eye,
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ii. A 1 x 1 cm laceration to the first finger on the left hand,
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iii. A 1 x 1 1/2 cm laceration below the right ear with haematoma beneath the skin,
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iv. Five small bruises or marks on the neck which revealed hematoma on both sides of the neck.
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v. There was a contusion of the right occipital lobe of the brain measuring 1 x 1 1/2 cm,
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vi. Contusion and subarachnoid hemorrhage of the measuring 3 x 3 cm,
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vii. Edema of the brain,
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viii. Blood in the vagina with small laceration of the labia major
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ix. Diffused petechiae in the pleura of both lungs.
The causes of death according to Dr. Alvarez were asphyxia and strangulation.
The defendant was arrested on the 20 th November 2015 and taken to Grenville Police Station and thereafter to the Princess Alice Hospital for medical examination and psychiatric evaluation.
During the defendant's detention at Grenville police station, in the presence of other CID police officers, his guardian Mrs. Celia Fletcher and a justice of the peace Mrs. Joan Ventour, the defendant chose to give a cautionary statement to the police. The statement was as follows:
“I used to stay by my grandmother so in the morning ah went there and asked her for something to eat. Ah went there Sunday morning at about seven o' clock. When ah reach there ah see the door half open. Ah went inside and ah ask her for something to eat and she tell me she doh have, ah went inside she was getting on and cursing me telling me what ah come bothering her for thing to eat. She had a piece of stick in she hand and she lash me with it then afterwards we started to fight and ah get ignorant and started to cuff her up then she fall. Afterwards ah went up on her. I was still there and ah was holding her in her throat, then I let go and ah just go down the road and ah just forget it. That's it.”
The defendant's actions at the time would have seemed deliberate and certainly calculated to cause harm but for his diagnosed illness. The defendant however took advantage of his 84 year old grandmother.
There were several psychiatric reports prepared at the request of the Court and Director of Public Prosecution's Office. On the 5 th December 2015, Dr. Omar Rivero a consultant psychiatrist prepared a report on the defendant having seen him on the 30 th November 2015.
The assessment at Mt Gay Mental Hospital lasted 1 hour and 20 min, and it was very apparent that the defendant's family had a history of psychiatric illness. Dr. Rivero stated in that report, that the defendant was first seen in hospital when he was 6 years old in 2003, having been brought in by a social worker of Queen Elizabeth home for children. The defendant at that age was described as having “abnormal behavior” which took the forms of aggression and violence. The defendant also heard voices speaking to him telling him on one occasion to burn his house down.
The diagnosis was psychotic disorder/schizophrenia. The report confirmed that on the day of the offence (21.11.14) the defendant was assessed by Dr. Melba Romaguera and he was very psychotic having visual and auditory hallucinations, delusions and paranoid ideas.
Dr. Rivero opined that based on the assessment on the 30 th November 2015, and in conjunction with the progress made, the defendant was free from psychotic symptoms, and was therefore able to understand the legal process and give instructions to his attorney.
On the 7 th December 2015 Mr. Ignatius Mungo, a social worker at the Mt. Gay Psychiatric Hospital, interviewed the defendant at Her Majesty's Prison, Richmond Hill and found him to be cooperative and friendly. In that interview it was made clear that the defendant has a problem remembering important information, dates and events. The defendant commented that he was not aware that he had committed a crime to be at prison.
On the 6 th April 2016, Dr. Dick Burkhardt, a Neurologist, Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist did a further assessment for the Court. As a result of that assessment by Dr. Burkhardt, it was thought that the defendant was fully oriented, intellectually challenged, has short term memory deficit, significantly reduced attention span, has problems to interact normally in an interpersonal context and has not developed healthy coping strategies when it comes to dealing with frustration. The defendant is intellectually disabled but understands what he is accused of.
The social inquiry report indicated that the defendant appeared to be unsettled throughout, preoccupied with non-related issues and confused. The defendant gave jumbled and incoherent responses whilst seemingly pre-occupied and expressing that he loved being in prison and the food was nice. In that interview the defendant accepted choking the deceased but denied responsibility for her death. The defendant has had a history of aggression and confrontation in relation to the deceased. The report also set out some rather concerning information relating to the fact that the defendant in the past set two houses on fire. It has become clear, very clear that there is a history of mental illness in the defendant's family. Those who knew the defendant and specialists agree that the defendant reasons below his age level (it may be a learning difficulty). The defendant does need assistance to deal with his mental health issues. Schizophrenia is a disorder which the defendant had for some time, and is now receiving the appropriate treatment.
The defendant's actions have been linked to his mental health and there is a high risk of re-offending without formal psychiatric intervention. The report from the consultant psychiatrist says that he was very psychotic at the time of the offence.
According to the social worker at the psychiatric hospital the defendant stated he was not aware that he committed a crime to be at the prison. This was on the 7 th December 2015. The psychiatrist saw him on the 5 th December 2015.
As the initial social inquiry report was prepared for submission in...
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