Rushane Barnett, the mass murderer who pleaded guilty to killing his cousin and her four children in Clarendon in June was this morning sentenced to five concurrent life sentences.
Presiding judge Justice Leighton Pusey handed down the sentence in the Home Circuit Court.
The judge ordered Barnett to serve 61 years and eight months before being eligible for parole.
Barnett, 23, was convicted in July of five counts of murder.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) had served notice that it would seek the death penalty during Barnett’s first court appearance, for the murder of his cousin Kemesha Wright, and her four children- Kimanda Smith, 15, Sharalee Smith, 12, Rafaella Smith, 5, and 23-month-old Kishawn Henry Jr.
However, he confessed to the murders and pleaded guilty.
At the sentencing hearing in September, DPP Paula Llewellyn argued that Barnett, who pleaded guilty to five counts of murder, should instead be sentenced to life in prison.
Barnett was living with his cousin and her children at the time of the incident.
On June 21, the victims were discovered with chop wounds and slashed throats inside their home in Cocoa Piece, Clarendon.
Rushane Barnett fled the area to Trelawny following the incident but was later apprehended in the parish.
