Barbados – A man who threw acid into the face of a woman has began serving a four year jail term today.
Edward Codrington of 1stAvenue, Belle St Michael, was sentenced in the No.4 Supreme Court by Justice Dr.Sonia Richards for unlawfully and maliciously inflicting serious bodily harm on Monica Bourne-Archer.
Codrington apologized to his victim yesterday and told the Court if he received a non-custodial sentence he would not harm Bourne-Archer again.
Judge Richards said that while she had considered his guility plea and his expressed remorse, she felt that only a custodial sentence would suffice.
“The facts of this case are disturbing and they reveal callousness in your attack on the victim, you threw acid on her in a public place and she was traumatized by the event and badly burn,she now has dimished sight in one eye.”
Judge Richards continued,”I have been made to understand that at the time you had no psychiatric illness and were in full possession of all of you mental faculties, I can only come to the conclusion that this was a deliberate, callous and wicket act”.
She added that Codrington could have been facing a more serious offence and could have received a longer sentence but that time was discounted for his guilty plea and the time he spent on remand.
Emily Hutto
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It’s encouraging to read that this acid attacker was punished for his crime. A 2003 Project Against Torture report states, “While some acid throwers have been convicted and sent to prison, others—especially those with power or money—live freely.”
One attacker, Khoun Sophal from Cambodia, threw acid on Tat Marina’s face because the teenager had been forced into an affair with Sophal’s husband, Cambodia’s Undersecretary of State. Her government status protected her from any punishment, though it’s well-known among Cambodians that she is guilty for the attack.
The documentary film Finding Face narrates this story. To learn more visit http://www.findingface.org.
For film news and reporting about worldwide acid violence, follow @FindingFace on Twitter.