Lindell Powell, also known as Lazarus, a Jamaican gangster from Westmoreland was sentenced to life in prison after the Court of Appeal agreed with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) that the 12-year sentence was “unduly lenient.”
The ruling was handed down by Justice Frank Williams on Friday morning.
It is the DPP’s first use of a law that allows the prosecution to appeal sentences.
Powell, a former member of Westmoreland’s notorious Kings Valley Gang, was sentenced to 12 years in prison in December 2021 in the Hanover Circuit Court, with the stipulation that he serve 10 years before being considered for parole.
He pleaded guilty to the murders of Oral McIntosh and Ida Clarke in Westmoreland in 2017.
However, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Paula Llewellyn, who believed the sentence was unduly lenient, objected to the parole eligibility period and appealed.
The Court of Appeal on Friday (October 28) sentenced Powell to life in prison for each of the two counts of murder on which he was convicted.
Powell will be eligible for parole after serving 20 years and seven months on one count and 24 years and seven months on the other, both at hard labor. The sentences will run concurrently, so Powell will have to serve 24 years before being considered for parole.
Following amendments to the Judicature (Appellate Jurisdiction) (Amendment) Act that went into effect in November 2021, the prosecution gained a limited right to appeal sentences and acquittals.
As a result, the DPP requested that Powell be sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility ranging from 20 to 28 years.
Powell was convicted of two firearms offenses at the time of his murder conviction and was sentenced to 18 months in prison on each count in August 2019.
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