NASSAU- Alutus Newbold, the last prisoner whipped with the cat-o’-nine-tails, is back in prison facing charges of burglary and indecent assault.
Prosecutors say Newbold, 50, of Orange Creek, Cat Island, kissed a 13-year-old boy on the lips during a burglary on November 2.
The burglary and indecent assault took place in Orange Creek, Cat Island—the same settlement where Newbold tried to rape an 83-year-old woman during a burglary in 2004.
Newbold invaded the sanctity of the senior citizen’s home and tried to violate her.
But the gutsy woman fought back. She grabbed Newbold’s testicles, only releasing her vice-like grip after he bit her on the arm.
Two years after the violent attack, a jury convicted Newbold, then 34, of burglary, attempted rape and causing harm.
Before passing sentence, Justice Jon Isaacs called Newbold a beast. He said that the woman, whose fingernails left scars on Newbold’s genitals, should have had stronger fingers.
Justice Isaacs sentenced Newbold to 16 years’ imprisonment as well as eight lashes with the cat-o’-nine tails for the burglary. He received concurrent sentences of six years for attempted rape and two years for causing harm.
The Court ordered the lashes doled out four at a time—upon entry to prison and immediately before release.
The sentence promptly triggered outcry from international human rights groups and local activists.
For his part, Newbold attempted to prevent being whipped by filing an appeal.
However, the Court of Appeal in 2008 refused to overturn the court-ordered whipping.
Corporal punishment has once again been thrust into the spotlight following the death of a sexually abused four-year-old girl.
Close to 15,000 people have signed a petition for the mandatory flogging of convicted sexual predators with the cat-o’nine tails, a whip with nine corded lashes that leaves marks like the scratches of a cat.
