Elderly man who murdered mistress to be freed from prison

After spending a little over four decades in prison, a 78-year-old man who admitted to murdering his mistress has been freed.

Felix Dean was ordered to be released from prison as he was re-sentenced by High Court Judge Tricia Hudlin-Cooper, late last week.

Justice Hudlin-Cooper said: “He does not pose a continued threat to society.”

In 1987, Dean, a rigger in the oil industry and originally from Palo Seco, was convicted of murdering Majorie “Charmaine” Singh.

Singh was attacked at her mother’s home in Los Iros on May 9, 1982 after a highly intoxicated Dean confronted her over money he had given her. She was chopped 14 times.

Dean lost his appeal over his conviction and spent seven years on death row before his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment based on the landmark Jamaican case of Pratt and Morgan, under which the Privy Council ruled that convicted murderers cannot be executed five years after their initial conviction.

Dean was re-sentenced based on a more recent landmark judgment in which the United Kingdom-based court ruled that prisoners, who benefited from their earlier ruling, should be given definite prison terms instead of blanket sentences for the remainder of their natural lives.

In performing the exercise, Justice Hudlin-Cooper began with a starting sentence of 48 years in prison as she described the attack on Singh, who he had two children with, as heinous, deplorable, and atrocious.

She then gave a two and a half year discount based on the numerous rehabilitation programmes he participated in during his lengthy prison term.

“This court is of the view that the strides made by the prisoner towards rehabilitation warrant a significant downward adjustment,” she said.

Justice Hudlin-Cooper also gave a one and a half year discount based on his lengthy stint on death row as she referred to several cases in which such was considered cruel and unusual punishment.

She then gave a further discount based on Dean expressing remorse for his actions.

After deducting the time he spent in prison, she ruled that he had already completed his sentence.

Pointing out that Dean’s son had offered to accommodate him at his home upon his release and his wife Kamla frequently visited him in prison, Justice Hudlin-Cooper said: “This court is fortified in its view that the Felix Dean that entered the prison system in 1982 has undergone positive change through the efforts to rehabilitate himself, ownership of his actions and to earn forgiveness, which has led to the unwavering support of his relatives and children.”

Dean was represented by Israel Khan, SC, Daniel Khan, Ula Nathai-Lutchman, and Davina Inalsingh.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) was represented by Norma Peters.

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