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Life Behind Bars For Japheth
posted (February 28, 2013)
20 year-old Japheth Bennett, the man who was convicted the murder of 37 year-old Ellis "Pepper Gacho" Meighan Sr, will spend life in prison. That was the sentence that Justice Adolph Lucas handed him in the mitigation hearing today.

Bennett was convicted in a landmark case on Monday in which, a statement was used as evidence, even after the witness - who gave that statement - refused to cooperate and said that he didn't give it in the first place.

But, using a new law, it was admitted into evidence. In that statement the witness said he saw Bennett with a gun in his hand standing over Meighan after he was killed.

It was admitted into evidence, and after deliberating for just under 4 hours, a jury of 12 believed that the written statement was given freely, and reflected the true events as the occurred on the night, even though the witness took the stand and denied he ever gave it.

In today's mitigation hearing, Bennett's friend took the stand and begged the court for leniency and a second chance. On his own behalf, he told the court, quote, "I apologize for the struggle the family has gone through. I believe I did not kill Ellis Meighan, so I am asking you to have mercy on me and to give me back some time. I have accepted that the jurors found me guilty, but as there is a God above, I did not do it." End quote.

Because the prosecution did not seek the death penalty at the beginning of the trial, and because he was a minor when the crime was committed, Justice Lucas handed Bennett a sentence of life in prison, to be recorded as commencing from October 4, 2011. Today, his family, which has been upset from the time the verdict was handed down came and spoke to 7News about their disappointment - his mother and a family friend asked to appear off camera:

Voice of: family friend
"After telling the jurors having mercy on this one individual - after all there were no fingerprint of this gun, no gun was found and the witness turn around and say that the statement that the police have there is not his statement and it's not his signature. I felt they would have check signature by A and D and see if these things match together and see after all if it's his signature - nothing like that didn't went on. When the judge says that he is sentencing him for life - it touch home because this kid I have known from a little boy. I know his mom, his brothers and sisters and after all he is 17 years old. He already spent 4 years in prison - that's a lot of a 17 year old. I felt at the end the judge would have look at him and tell him that there is no case - there is no fingerprint and no gun that have been found and the witness said that that wasn't his statement and that wasn't his signature. That's common sense to know that there is no case. But at the end the law will do what they have to do."

Daniel Ortiz
"I must interject here that the reason why this outcome of this trial was important was because there is a change in a law which allows for a statement to be tested which has already been tendered as evidence when the witness come to court and recants that statement saying it's not mine. It is a measure in which murders trials can continue forward because they feel as if though intimidation or witness tampering has taken place and that is why witness comes to court to recant their statement. That is the way forward sir; all cases will be treated in this fashion. Are you saying that this new law needs to be repeal because it's a bad law?"

Voice of: family friend
"I wouldn't say it needs to be repeal but I will say at the same time I am looking at it if it was my brother or my sister how would have feel to know that after all there was not that much evidence to cause him life in prison."

Daniel Ortiz
"You must also look on the flip side of that. The family members of the victim is looking for justice and many times an accused person walks because witnesses come to court and say I didn't gave them this statement even though there is a signature affix to that statement and people walk free."

Voice of: family friend
"You have a point there but I am not here saying that its wrong because the deceased family do have this though thinking, after all they lose their loved one as well, but I am not the judge or the attorneys, I sit there in that court and I felt because I loved that one individual the court would have turned around on our behalf but it didn't worked out that way."

Bennett's mother told us that her family intends to appeal this judgment.

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