Henry boys’ killers get life imprisonment

Nearly six years after the brutal murders of West Coast Berbice cousins Isaiah and Joel Henry shocked the nation, the two men convicted of the killings were today sentenced to life imprisonment by the Berbice High Court.

Nearly a month after they were convicted of the murders of cousins Isaiah Henry, 16, and Joel Henry, 19, Anil Sancharra, called “Dan Pole” or “Rasta”, and Vinod Gopaul, known as “Magga”, were each handed two life sentences by Justice Simone Morris.

The judge ordered that the sentences run concurrently and ruled that both men must serve a minimum of 35 years before becoming eligible for parole.

Before handing down the sentences, the court considered probation reports prepared by Probation Officers Mahesia Granville and Dionne Douglas, along with psychiatric evaluations presented by Medical Superintendent of the National Psychiatric Hospital and forensic psychiatrist Dr Meenawattie Rajkumar, who found no mental condition that reduced either man’s criminal responsibility.

Justice Morris said the evidence showed that both offenders actively participated in the attack, noting that the teenagers posed no threat to them. She described the killings as acts of extreme brutality carried out with a grave disregard for human life, adding that the force of the injuries reflected the violence inflicted on the victims.

The judge said the murders caused deep public shock, fear and grief across Guyana, but stressed that she was sentencing only for the crimes before the court and not for the unrest and violence that followed in the communities after the killings.

In determining the sentence, Justice Morris said the court also considered the prevalence of violent crimes committed with dangerous weapons, the need to protect the public, and the importance of sending a clear message that such acts of violence would attract severe punishment. While both men maintained their innocence, she said there were no mitigating factors that justified imposing anything less than life imprisonment.

Isaiah and Joel Henry disappeared on September 5, 2020, after going into the Cotton Tree backlands, West Coast Berbice. Their mutilated bodies were discovered the following day, sparking nationwide outrage and demands for justice. On June 9 this year, a 12-member jury unanimously found Sancharra and Gopaul guilty of both murders.