CoA Grants Former Prison Escapee Parole Eligibility

December 23 2024 – The Court of Appeal (CoA) on Thursday revised the life sentence of former Camp Street Prison escapee Stafrei Alexander, granting him parole eligibility after serving 15 years.

Alexander, 41, is serving the sentence for the 2015 attempted murder of Curtis Thom, a conviction
that stemmed from a majority guilty verdict at the Demerara High Court in 2018.

Alexander attacked Thom on March 23, 2015, shooting him multiple times outside his Laing Avenue
residence. Thom, who had been feeding his dog, sustained gunshot wounds to his side and back and
required emergency surgery, spending weeks recovering in the hospital.

Justice Sandil Kissoon originally sentenced Alexander to life imprisonment without parole,
considering the aggravating nature of the crime and Alexander’s criminal history.

However, Alexander, through his attorney Dexter Smartt, appealed the sentence, maintaining it was
excessive and legally flawed.

Smartt argued that the trial judge failed to hold a proper sentencing hearing, adopt a structured
starting point, and address parole eligibility.

Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Diana Kaulesar-O’Brien argued that life imprisonment was
not disproportionate, emphasising the trial judge’s consideration of aggravating factors and
Alexander’s criminal history.

The Court of Appeal, led by Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards on
Thursday, agreed with Smartt, emphasising the need for parole considerations to align with modern
sentencing principles and the objectives of rehabilitation and reintegration.

Justice Cummings-Edwards specified a 15-year minimum period of incarceration before parole
eligibility, balancing the severity of the crime with fairness and proportionality.

Alexander has a history of serious offences.

In addition to his sentence for Thom’s attempted murder, he is serving a life term with parole
eligibility after 25 years for the 2015 murder of Linden businessman Richard Remington, a sentence
imposed by Justice Brassington Reynolds in 2022.

His accomplice, Owen Belfield was jailed for 14 years.

Alexander’s criminal record also includes a prior acquittal for the murder of Terrence Maxwell
Thomas and pending trial alongside Asdino Bowen for the 2015 murder of Linden businesswoman
Shevon Gordon. Bowen was granted bail of $750,000 by a judge pending his trial.

Notably, Alexander was among the inmates who escaped custody during the 2017 Camp Street
Prison fire.