NASSAU- The Court of Appeal has re-sentenced convicted cop killer Stephen “Die” Stubbs to 35 years in prison.
The sentence handed down yesterday means that even with time off for good behavior Stubbs won’t be freed before his 70th birthday.
However, the 46-year-old will likely appeal the decision to the Privy Council—the court that ordered his re-sentencing.
Last year, the country’s final appellate court quashed Stubbs’ 45-year sentence for the 1999 shooting death of DC Jimmy Ambrose.
The Court said that Stubbs was entitled to a reduced sentence as compensation for the 14-year delay in bringing his case to trial and the two years he had unlawfully spent on death row.
Wayne Munroe, QC, failed to convince the local appellate court to re-sentence Stubbs to 15 years for the murder.
Munroe asked the Court to consider a 30-year starting point, with 15 years off due to the breaches plus credit for time on remand.
If Munroe’s argument had succeeded, Stubbs would have been freed from prison.
Describing Ambrose’s murder as a “heinous execution”, the Court said that 45 years was a fitting sentence for the crime.
As redress for the breach of Stubbs’ rights, the Court reduced the sentence to 40 years.
Then, the judges cut the sentence by another five years to account for the time Stubbs spent on remand.
The 35-year sentence takes effect from the date of Stubbs’ conviction on July 25, 2013.