Killers ‘deeply remorseful’ as they await sentence
(CNS): Lawyers representing Justin Kyle Jackson (25) and Eric Brian Williams Soto (23) told the court their clients were “deeply remorseful” about the death of Harry Elliott (63), who was shot and killed by Jackson during an attempted robbery at an illegal numbers shop on School Road in April 2022.
In November last year, Jackson and Soto were both convicted of manslaughter in a joint enterprise, but Jackson claimed he fired the gun by accident when he entered the small unit and announced the stick-up just as the former prison officer was coming out.
Jackson and Soto appeared in court via video link for their sentencing hearing for manslaughter and gun possession. The crown listed a number of aggravating factors, including that the gun was fired inside a small shop and the robbery was pre-planned. It was also noted that Jackson has previous convictions for violence and, at the time of the fatal shooting, had been released on licence after a six-year sentence for wounding with intent, having stabbed a man multiple times when he was just 17 years old.
The court heard that Jackson knew Elliott from his time in prison. Defence attorney Sallie Bennett-Jenkins KC told Justice Cheryll Richards that Jackson had “ongoing deep remorse” that the prison officer, for whom he had great respect, had died because of him and that it had had “a profound effect” on him.
She accepted that there were some aggravating circumstances but noted that the jury had found, based on the judge’s directions at trial, that Jackson had not intended to kill or even harm Elliott. As she argued for leniency, she pointed out that Jackson had admitted manslaughter at an early point, but the crown had insisted on trying both Jackson and Soto for murder.
Bennett-Jenkins said there was also the spectre of Caine Thomas, the third man in this joint enterprise and the getaway driver, who was said to have coerced Jackson into committing the robbery and given him the gun. Just a few days after Elliot was killed, Thomas, an infamous crown witness and participant in a brutal home invasion in 2017, was murdered on Seven Mile Beach.
Bennett-Jenkins said that while her client was the oldest of the group involved in the joint enterprise, he had some serious mental health problems that had never been properly addressed and was emotionally and developmentally immature.
Describing a difficult and disruptive life, she said that Jackson had been taken away from Cayman at a young age as his family fled domestic violence. Living in the United States as a child, he was exposed to gang culture and crime, and when he came back to Cayman, he was incarcerated at a very young age. No one had intervened to address any of his challenges until now, she said.
But Bennett-Jenkins said there was hope that once he is properly medicated for his psychiatric issues, he could change, and she urged the court not to “simply write him off” and to hand down “a sentence that doesn’t crush all hope”.
Jackson has also been convicted of a separate firearms offence, having pleaded guilty to the possession of an unlicensed firearm. The gun was found in a vehicle he was driving after he was chased by police officers, first by car and then by foot, in the Seven Mile Beach area a few days after Elliot was killed. The court is expected to deal with that case when the judge delivers her decision on the manslaughter conviction next month.
Arguing on behalf of Eric Soto, who has no previous convictions, Charles Miskin KC told the court that his client was also deeply remorseful over the death of Elliott. He pointed out that Soto did not have control of the gun or pull the trigger and had said during the trial that he was not even aware that Jackson had a gun.
Miskin argued that while Soto had a supportive family, was educated and had a job at the time, his motivation for the crime was due to “immaturity and keeping bad company”, and he lacked the skills to avoid trouble.
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Yes stupid cupid we all have been in the wrong place at wrong time that does not give anyone the right to come there and kill you!What is pretty clear is that they pose a significant threat to the general public and should not have been on the loose!You right about one thing though corruption permeates right through this entire “GoWerment” system from the TOP right to the bottom!
Illegal gambling operations are owned and operated by criminal syndicates, and that criminality obviously extends deep into the fabric of the RCIPS and other law enforcement agencies here in the Cayman Islands. That is the problem which has been pointed to. Nobody is trying to justify the killing of Mr. Elliot, but it is important to point out that it certainly was not the first time that either the owner/operator of the illegal gambling den or the retired prison officer were engaged in these illegal acts, including prior to retirement while they were both in active service. It is poignant to point this out because these are the people who have helped to institutionalize and solidify the criminality which illegal gambling is only one part of. This is the environment which the two gunmen have been taught by, where going to prison is where a master class in being a better criminal and a worse member of society is learned. The hypocrisy inherent in a system which allows the law enforcement officers themselves to be those who profit personally from said criminality and all of its fallout of negative consequences is one of the major reasons why criminality is on the rise. Ignoring that fact will do nothing to remedy the situation itself. Beyond the need to send a clear message about the need to hold the gunmen responsible for the killing of Mr. Elliot, the fact of the matter is that the owner/operator of that criminal enterprise/illegal gambling den has the blood of Mr. Elliot on his own hands just as much as the gunmen themselves. That he himself has not been held criminally liable is where the real issue lays. That anyone else would try to rationalize Mr. Elliot’s presence at said illegal gambling den as simply “being at the wrong place at the wrong time” is trying to ignore the fact that Mr. Elliot had his own part to play in his own demise. These are the results. This is one of the many reasons why the public’s faith and trust in the RCIPS is almost nonexistent and until that issue is recognized, addressed and rectified then nothing will change for the better.
Anyplace else in the world killing some one while committing a felony is murder. How in the world they got off with manslaughter is beyond me.
Jackson “had admitted manslaughter at an early point”, he could hardly deny it, but will this allow him the usual discount on his sentence for pleading guilty?.This would be a travesty.
Mr Elliott being at this location obviously placed him in a great deal of danger but putting that aside these individuals appeared to be a significant threat to the public and a serious menace to society why were they even out on a license if their mental health issues were not being addressed by Department of Rehabilitation or whatever government entity ? Something just doesn’t smell right ya so people some thing or someone needs to held responsible or accountable for this situation where a man lost his life.
Obviously not rehabilitated and posing a serious threat to the public yet released on licence without a tag nor monitor making the job for the police 10 times harder this appears to be a pattern here now at probation department not doing their job which his lawyer has starkly pointed with his mental Health issues going unaddressed which has no doubt led to these unfortunate and deadly circumstances or outcome .No one is ever ever held responsible for their actions especially in this world class civil service. Rest in Peace Mr Elliott !
Firstly no they’re probably not remorseful. They just want a smaller sentence. Secondly…it shouldn’t F*cking matter how you feel after the fact. They ended someone’s life and their own lives are forfeit. LIFE behind bars or execution I don’t care.
They are not. Trust me
Let me guess, they “found God”.
Well it was a come to God moment
Classic lawyer language. Remorseful once found guilty. These two fought tooth and nails proclaiming their innocence. Poor Cain Thomas was murdered and can’t defend himself being blamed for pressuring them to commit robbery.
Poor Cain? He was no angel.
A retired law enforcement official enters into an illegal gambling den to conduct an illegal act in a shop owned and operated by another retired law enforcement official. He gets killed in the process of trying to conduct that illegal act. The owner/operator should be held culpable for creating, facilitating and profiting from the scenario which led up to the killing. That this fact is conveniently ignored, including the obvious aspect of institutionalized corruption, is the most telling part of this whole story. He may not have deserved to have been shot and killed but he made a conscious decision to put himself in that place. This is the result. It makes one wonder to what extent miscreant behaviour at the hands of crooked and corrupt law enforcement officials has been, is now, and continues to be conveniently ignored. Moreover, what does it say about the dereliction of duty of said supposed law enforcement officials to carry out enforcement of the law when they themselves are criminals.
too much logic for them.
Cayman’s eyeball owners often proudly attest to their supernatural perception to correctly identify and categorise foreign nationalities, confidently through steel, a hundred yards away, at night, or foul weather – yet rarely identify their own countrymen, school mates, cousins, siblings, and parishioners, when they are standing just feet away, threatening with machetes. or shooting at their family and friends. It’s remarkably selective, this vilifying superpower. >80% of HMP Northward is housing Caymanians, not foreigners, and not because they are being picked on.
What he said!!!!!!
This is a stupid and disingenuous argument and you know it. Any prison worldwide is housing >80% locals, duncebat. Provide one example of a cause list that shows otherwise. I’ll wait.
Caymanians don’t have anywhere to run when they commit crimes. Many immigrants hop back on a boat, or schedule a flight out the next day, long before the corrupt RCIPS even acknowledge there was a crime committed.
First, most countries may have a prison population that is predominately local. But then most countries don’t have over 50% expatriates by head count. But the main point driving the OPs observation is the tendency we have to subscribe any form of criminality or anti social behaviour to foreigners without any evidence – how any times have you read comments in which a crime is reported and before the perpetrators are apprehended it is assumed they are foreigners, or complaints about traffic offenders in which the commenter magically knows the driver was a Jamaican?
Belmarsh, Scrubs, Long Lartin, Hull. Real jails, not Cayman Butlins.
By ‘Cayman Butlins’ you mean the prison which has been repeatedly found to be unfit for human habitation?
Yep, that’s the one, apparently pillows not comfy enough.
If you don’t like it, don’t commit crimes. Pretty simple really.
No no, Cayman jail is shit and serious. I’ve been there. You will get robbed, raped and assaulted. 3 meals like any other prison. Piss and sh*t on the floors. You all that know nothing about it speak the most crap.
Can concur. Not as a resident, but visited as a first responder. Miserable place.
yes i do i was there for 2 years ,, and belive me its a holiday camp ,, compared to everywhere else ,, i especially liked the food ,, ,, do not fill peoples heads with this sh*t you talk of ,, my time there was a doddle ,, made good friends too , houdini bein one of em football every night , , sit n play cards under the cabana all day ,, go for a shower , on your own cos aint no way anyone going to follow you in , cos worst thing in there was to be a battee boy ,, you ded ,,
“He recognized Mr. Elliott from his time in prison”….
So you think he didn’t know that Mr. Elliott could have possible recognize him too??
Mr. Jackson + KC would really out here trying to have us believe that Mr. Jackson didn’t shoot Mr. Elliott *BECAUSE* he knew he could be recognized? SMH….
Wanna do the crime but not the time? NOPE. 30+ years for both, please I beg of your Honour.
Exactly. No remorse. Keep them both in Jail. Jackson had a chance to keep out of trouble from his first offences. He deserves to sit in jail.
They certainly are sorry now since they’ve been caught. Poor lawyer who has to defend these kinds of ppl. Throw away the key!
Poor is not the word to describe KC’s specializing in criminal defence work. At least not in the way you mean – they are not forced into it – they have spent years honing their craft, and they are very well paid. Poor taxpayer who has to pay their fees, rather meet the costs of a public defender.
they aren’t defending them, they are defending their due process.
Totally straightforward case. Life without parole is the only option. Hopefully justice isn’t blind.
You can’t give them that sentence sadly for what they have been found guilty of
Sounds like we know what laws we have to fix next then, huh?
I feel bad for him and even more than he is remorse about it, therefor I wish he is sentenced for life x10 times over.
I hope the judge is smart enough to see through this bullsh*t and sentence accordingly. This is far from Jackson’s first rodeo. He’s been a menace to society from birth, in and out of jail. The other dude is just as culpable. Only sad part is none of their time will be served in a real prison. Smdh
Agree. He is renowned for crime and his name has frequented the cause list for decades. Nasty piece of work needs banging up in Belmarsh not Northward, along with a few others.
These piece of shit holes ain’t sorry . They are only sorry they were caught . Jackson has been a criminal for quite a long time in and out of jail. He was on probation only to go rob and kill again . He is a menace to society he killed and innocent man . I hope they send these two criminals to Ben Marsh prison in the UK to go do time . Real criminals kill innocent man, he knew the prison officer Elliott so he killed him knowing he would recognize him as the robber 🤙
we are here in the uk , waiting for them
Remorse 🙁? Northward didn’t change them the first few times so let’s ship them off to another country with a real prison 👍
All in favor say I
What else would you expect them to say? Save the tears and just put them in prison where they belong.
they are only sad that they got caught