⚖️ Murderer's minimum life sentence reduced by three years

William Ian Rivers, a 45-year-old man who was sentenced to a minimum of 35 years in prison for the murder of Mark Travis Seymour in 2017, has had his sentence reduced to 32 years by the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal. Rivers was convicted of the murder, which occurred in broad daylight outside a restaurant in West Bay, in September 2018. The judge initially increased the life tariff from the legally recommended 30 years to 35 due to aggravating factors in the case. However, the appeal court found that mitigating circumstances had not been sufficiently considered. 🏛️

The appeal court noted evidence of Rivers' "unstable, depressed personality" and medical records indicating he had suffered from depression and had been on anti-psychotic and anti-anxiety medication prior to the murder. At the trial, one doctor testified that Rivers was suffering from schizophrenia, while the crown's medical expert diagnosed an anti-social personality disorder and polysubstance intoxication. Rivers had only one previous conviction for violence in 2008, for which he received a suspended sentence. These factors, the court found, provided some mitigation against the exceptional aggravating circumstances, leading to the reduction in the tariff. 📝

Rivers had pleaded guilty to manslaughter based on diminished responsibility but not guilty to murder. After killing Seymour, he barricaded himself in his home, fired shots at police officers, and held a two-and-a-half-hour stand-off before surrendering. The quantity of ammunition he had in his possession was one of the reasons why the sentencing judge had increased the time he should serve. Rivers, who has already served seven years, will now serve at least another 25 years and will be around 70 years old when he has his first parole hearing. 🚔