Anthony Carter of East Canje, Berbice, has been acquitted of manslaughter after a jury at the Berbice High Court returned a formal not-guilty verdict in the 2019 fatal stabbing of ex-convict Delroy James, also known as “Slant Eye.”
The decision followed a successful no-case submission by Carter’s attorney, Kevin Morgan of the Guyana Legal Aid Clinic, and was directed by presiding Judge Zamilla Ally-Seepaul after a detailed review of surveillance footage shown during the trial.
The footage, captured during the early morning hours of September 22, 2019, showed James and another man, Godfrey MacCalman, confronting Carter and his employer, Nizam Balgobin, outside a Main Street, New Amsterdam establishment.
James was seen putting Balgobin in a chokehold while MacCalman began attacking Carter. A scuffle ensued, during which stabbing motions were observed on video, but the judge found that there was no clear evidence to prove Carter acted with unlawful intent.
The absence of MacCalman, a key eyewitness who had testified during the preliminary inquiry but failed to appear at the High Court trial, further weakened the prosecution’s case, which was led by State Counsel Cicelia Corbin.
Justice Ally-Seepaul ruled that the State had failed to present a prima facie case, resulting in Carter’s acquittal after nearly six years in custody.
James, a 33-year-old labourer with a history of criminal charges, including a previous murder accusation and a conviction for armed robbery, was found with stab wounds and pronounced dead at the New Amsterdam Public Hospital.
His death was attributed to heart perforation caused by multiple stab wounds. Meanwhile, Carter is now a free man after spending almost six years in pre-trial detention.
