EARNST Davis, the attorney-at-law representing Dwayne Pink — a co-convict in the murder of Simone Campbell-Collymore and taxi operator Winston Walters — on Tuesday begged Justice Leighton Pusey to exercise leniency when sentencing his client, whom he insisted was not the mastermind.

Pink, Campbell-Collymore’s husband Omar, Michael Adams and Shaquilla Edwards were all found guilty for the double murder outside the Forest Ridge apartment complex in Red Hills, St Andrew, on January 2, 2018.

Omar Collymore was found to be the mastermind behind the murders, Adams was the contractor, while the other two were facilitators of the crime at different levels.

While attorney Davis made it clear that he would not argue about the conviction, there were a few things he wanted Justice Pusey to consider when deciding on the length of the prison sentence his client is to receive. He urged the judge not to apply a one-size-fits-all approach when handing down his client’s sentence.

“We are here for the sentencing of Mr Pink for two counts of murder and one count of conspiracy; this is a very serious offence, My Lord. I know Mr Pink has been tried and found guilty. I am not here to argue anything as far as the guilty verdict is concerned, but I think it is important that I make mention of the facts of the case as it relates to each individual person. “Mr Pink was born on April 22, 1990 and he is now 34 years old. Up to the time of his arrest he lived in Dallas Castle in St Andrew. The accused man, up to the time of his arrest, was gainfully employed and had no previous conviction. He has been in custody for six and a half years since his arrest and the social inquiry report shows that he has an illness,” Davis said, which sparked a response from Judge Pusey.

The judge found it strange that Davis was asking the court to consider his client’s illness because he had asked the attorney if he needed a medical report to confirm the medical condition before the court went any further.

“I asked specifically whether or not you wanted a medical to confirm the illness and you said no,” Judge Pusey reminded Davis.

Pusey continued: “The probation officers are very helpful but they are not doctors. They speak about him having a particular diagnosis sometime ago and I don’t know what the current position is. I can’t take into consideration something which is medical, which is merely mentioned in the social inquiry report, without a medical follow-up. I asked you if you needed a medical and you said no. If a probation officer sees me and says Leighton Pusey is the brightest man in the world, is that necessarily true? If it is a serious illness it may affect the issues in relation to sentencing, so that is why I am so keen at this stage.”

Davis insisted that a one-size-fits-all approach to sentencing should not apply in relation to his client. The attorney said it was important to look at the part his client played in the double murder.

“The fact that Mr Pink was not the instigator, not the one who did the shooting at the time of the murder [should be considered]. The telephone cell tower shows that Mr Pink was not present at the murder scene; he was somewhere in Maverley at the time of the murder. Mr Blackwood admitted that he was one of two triggermen and that ‘Jim’ was the other. It shows that Mr Pink was not the main person as far as murder is concerned. If it was left up to Mr Pink alone, Mrs Collymore and Mr Walters would still be [here]. There is no actual participation in the actual murder. The probation officer even ranks him as a low-risk person.

“This is a young man who is just 34 years old and, for some reason, he got caught up. As far as I can recall there was some communication between the telephone number tied to Mr Pink and the telephone number tied to Mr Edwards. As far as I can recall I am seeing no other part that was played by Mr Pink. The evidence is mostly circumstantial. He was found guilty, but I am just mentioning aspects of the part he played. As it relates to Mr Pink, I am asking that you look at Mr Pink as an individual. Don’t treat his participation as the worst of the worst,” Davis begged of Justice Pusey.