George – ‘I tell him fo chop mi back’

After Kerwin George severed a man’s middle finger with a cutlass, he was willing to let his victim return the favour to make matters even.{{more}}

This was not to be. Instead, George, 39, of Redemption Sharpes, pleaded guilty to wounding his friend, Brian King, also of the same address on August 19, 2009.

The facts in the matter were that George and his girlfriend had a dispute in the public road when King intervened and tried to make peace between the couple. George then turned on King and chopped him with a cutlass. As a result, King was left with his finger hanging from his hand by a piece of skin. It eventually had to be amputated at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital.

Chief Magistrate Sonya Young placed George on a nine-month custodial sentence, which was suspended for one year. He was also ordered to pay compensation of $2,000 to his victim in two months or spend nine months in jail.

In his explanation to the court, George noted that he works with the government to cut grass along the public roads. He mentioned that his cutlass was on the ground at the time when King came to where he was. George said that while talking with King he swung the cutlass and “is like the cutlass butt up pon he hand na, and cut he finger. I even tell him fo chop mi back when he been down by the hospital,” George recalled.

George further explained that he and King were good friends and that he did not intend to injure him.

Since the incident, King revealed that it is difficult to ply his trade as a mason. “It dus be hard sometimes when I working because I don’t have the use of all my fingers now,” King explained.