Man sentenced to three years in prison for manslaughter | News

A man who pleaded guilty to stabbing a woman to death, allegedly in self-defense, was sentenced to three years in prison in St. Catherine Circuit Court on Friday.

The accused, Ricardo Leachman, was charged with the murder of Catherine Laing in Portmore, St. Catherine, but pleaded guilty last November to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Attorney Earl Hamilton made a lengthy application for a suspended sentence before Judge Bertram Morrison.

“Consider that this is a legitimate case of self-defense. My client was attacked and stabbed by the deceased. It was the same knife that he recovered and during a fight she was stabbed,” Hamilton said.

The judge told the defense he would follow sentencing guidelines.

“I completely understand, but he stabbed the victim eight times. A life is gone, there needs to be a sentence proportionate to the crime,” Morrison said.

The court was told that on the day of the incident the accused and Laing had an altercation which became physical. Both were injured, but Laing succumbed to the injuries she received.

Leach was later arrested and charged with murder.

-Rasbert Turner

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