Ninjaman says that his life sentence is not the end of the road.
The Don Gorgon was sentenced to life in prison yesterday for a murder conviction with the possibility of parole after serving 25 years. The dancehall legend who is now 51, will be 76 by the time he is eligible for parole. The deejay says that he will appeal the conviction and the sentencing despite being convicted unanimously by a jury. Ninjaman also felt that he was convicted for his past life and not for his present, while alluding that his past life is coming back to haunt him.
Dancehall Queen Carlene Smith was one of the character witnesses who gave testimony on behalf of the music icon. “He (Ninjaman) just passed me out here and said: ‘It’s not the end,'” she said. “He’s that kind of character, where everything is a happy-go-lucky moment, but I know deep down there is regret. As we know, he has been a reformed human being and continues to do really great work, so this is an extremely sad day for me as he is my friend. But the lawyer still gives us hope; we can appeal it, but let’s just hope God has another bigger work for him in store, and this is one of the messages to the public and the world at large.”
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Singer Stacious, real name Stacy Scarlett also gave character testimony on behalf of the deejay while begging the judge to be lenient in his sentencing, but that was not enough to sway the judge in handing down the life sentence. Ninjaman was smiling when he was being escorted from court to prison yesterday while showing his supporters that he is in good spirit despite the harsh sentence.
His attorney, Valerie Neita-Robertson, says she visited her client after the verdict and he is in good spirit. “I was really, really very emboldened by my client’s response when I went to see him after the verdict,” Neita-Robertson said. “He said to me Miss Neita, God know why him sending me down a Tower Street. Mi a continue mi work wid di man dem down deh weh a fire gun. Mi nah give up’, and I was very comforted by that.”
