47 year-old Earlin White is a convicted murderer who has been serving a life sentence at the Belize Central Prison. Now, we've told you about multiple "lifers" who have been re-sentenced to 25 years, but in White's case, Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin says that he should continue serving out that life sentence.
White was convicted in October 2003 of the 2002 murder of businessman Dwayne Arnold who was at his workplace, Electrical Zone Rebuilding when White shot him in the head.
According to the evidence in White's murder trial, white demanded a quarter from one of Arnold's employees, and when he told White that he had none, White held him at gunpoint and marched him up to Arnold's office. When Arnold asked White what he wanted, he also demanded 25 cents from Arnold. When no money was forthcoming, White fired 3 shots at Arnold, injuring him in the head and the right arm - killing him on the spot.
During the re-sentencing hearing, Chief Justice Benjamin looked at both the mitigating and aggravating factors of the case against White. For the aggravating factors, Crown Counsel Portia Ferguson pointed out to the court that White had already served 4 years in prison for a manslaughter conviction, and that he also had a conviction for use of deadly means of harm. She added that in this case, White was unprovoked when he shot and killed Arnold.
In mitigation, White's attorney Leslie Mendez, submitted that he had a troubled childhood, and while he was living in the US, he was exposed to gang activity, and the lifestyle from an early age. White also wrote a long letter to the Chief Justice expressing his remorse for killing Arnold.
After considering all the factors, Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin upheld his life sentence in prison, but he also ruled that White would be eligible for parole after he has served 25 years.
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