Habitual offender gets life
Convicted murderer Andrew Britz was yesterday sentenced to life imprisonment by High Court Judge Christie Liebenberg.
Britz (59) was found guilty of murdering his former girlfriend, Juliana Sarvanda Garises, at Keetmanshoop during December 2013.
Britz has 12 previous convictions ranging from murder to two attempted murders, robbery with aggravating circumstances, three assaults with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, two common assaults as well as malicious damage to property and crimen injuria.
“He has little respect for the sanctity of human life, which is evident from past behaviour,” Liebenberg emphasised yesterday.
Between 11 and 12 December 2013 in the Kronlein residential area of Keetmanshoop, Britz stabbed Garises at least eight times in her neck, upper body and arms.
“His distinct pattern of attack in the past fits in with the present facts where he wounded the deceased eight times with a knife, of which five were in the upper body,” Liebenberg recounted.
In 1981 Britz was sentenced to 15 and 12 years' imprisonment on counts of murder and robbery respectively, which were ordered to run concurrently.
For attempted murder he was sentenced in 1986 to three years' imprisonment' which was partly suspended, and in 1987 he received a wholly suspended sentence of 12 months' imprisonment.
Liebenberg stated that even after he had served a 15-year jail term, Britz committed two further attempted murders, one common assault and the murder he was now convicted of.
“I am unable to agree with any submission that the accused before the court is a reformed person despite him having steered clear for a period of 16 years, a factor the court should take into consideration in sentencing,” the judge noted.
However, he emphasised that irrespective of the lapse of time since the last conviction the sentencing court still had the discretion in deciding what weight should be accorded, if any, to previous convictions.
“This would mainly be determined by the nature, the number and seriousness of the offences previously committed, its relevance to the present offence and the time lapse between them,” he said.
Liebenberg stressed that the court must guard against overemphasising the interest of the society at the expense of the offender's interest.
“The offender should be sentenced for the offence charged and not for previous records. Public interest is harmed rather than served by sentences that are out of all proportion to the gravity of the offence. While it will be justifiable to impose escalating sentences on repeat offenders of some offences, there are boundaries,” the judge explained.
FRED GOEIEMAN
Britz (59) was found guilty of murdering his former girlfriend, Juliana Sarvanda Garises, at Keetmanshoop during December 2013.
Britz has 12 previous convictions ranging from murder to two attempted murders, robbery with aggravating circumstances, three assaults with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, two common assaults as well as malicious damage to property and crimen injuria.
“He has little respect for the sanctity of human life, which is evident from past behaviour,” Liebenberg emphasised yesterday.
Between 11 and 12 December 2013 in the Kronlein residential area of Keetmanshoop, Britz stabbed Garises at least eight times in her neck, upper body and arms.
“His distinct pattern of attack in the past fits in with the present facts where he wounded the deceased eight times with a knife, of which five were in the upper body,” Liebenberg recounted.
In 1981 Britz was sentenced to 15 and 12 years' imprisonment on counts of murder and robbery respectively, which were ordered to run concurrently.
For attempted murder he was sentenced in 1986 to three years' imprisonment' which was partly suspended, and in 1987 he received a wholly suspended sentence of 12 months' imprisonment.
Liebenberg stated that even after he had served a 15-year jail term, Britz committed two further attempted murders, one common assault and the murder he was now convicted of.
“I am unable to agree with any submission that the accused before the court is a reformed person despite him having steered clear for a period of 16 years, a factor the court should take into consideration in sentencing,” the judge noted.
However, he emphasised that irrespective of the lapse of time since the last conviction the sentencing court still had the discretion in deciding what weight should be accorded, if any, to previous convictions.
“This would mainly be determined by the nature, the number and seriousness of the offences previously committed, its relevance to the present offence and the time lapse between them,” he said.
Liebenberg stressed that the court must guard against overemphasising the interest of the society at the expense of the offender's interest.
“The offender should be sentenced for the offence charged and not for previous records. Public interest is harmed rather than served by sentences that are out of all proportion to the gravity of the offence. While it will be justifiable to impose escalating sentences on repeat offenders of some offences, there are boundaries,” the judge explained.
FRED GOEIEMAN
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article