Police Commissioner Reacts to Sentencing of Jasmin Hartin

Our newsroom met up with Police Commissioner on Orange Street, Belize City, and asked him for his reactions on the sentencing handed down to Jasmin Hartin.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police: “There is a difference between the two and while yes I have expressed that the sentence of Mr. Kareem Martinez was excessive one was manslaughter by negligence which is Jasmine Hartin while Kareem Martinez was manslaughter straight not by negligence. So those two types of crimes do carry different penalty in law. I have never seen a situation where a person who is charged for manslaughter by negligence is given an imprisonment sentence, I’ve never seen that before so it does not surprise me that she didn’t get an imprisonment sentence. Certainly my wish would have been for her to get an imprisonment sentence but the truth is as a lawyer knowing the law and what the case precedents in situations like these are I could understand the decision of the judge and so we have to accept it and it does not bring comfort to us nor the family or that level of comfort that we would have wanted but certainly there is some joy in it to see that she did not go unpunished. She is still penalized to a great extent because to pay $75,000 is not a small sum. The family of the late Mr.Jemmott do have the option still to take civil action against her for wrongful death and then the court can look at it from a civil standpoint and may award greater damages. The community service part I don’t know where she’s going to do it but I would hope that it is done – at YMCA ? I would hope that she do as best as she can and that this is a learning example to her not to play with firearms or whatever it is she was doing with the firearm that led to the death of Mr.Jemmott.”

Jasmin Hartin’s legal woes came after she fatally shot Superintendent Henry Jemmott on May 28, 2021.