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A PENAL man who fatally stabbed his childhood friend during a confrontation in 2023 has been urged by a High Court judge to use his remaining years in prison to prepare for life after incarceration.

Leon Sherwin Baptiste, 23, was sentenced on May 15 by Justice Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds for the death of Carlyle “Blacks” Hamilton. Although charged with murder, Baptiste pleaded guilty to manslaughter by provocation in a plea agreement with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. His sentence was reduced to just under nine years after deductions for his good behaviour, guilty plea and the time he has already spent incarcerated.

“You will be nearly 30 when you are released,” the judge told Baptiste. “There is so much you can do in those eight years. Get yourself ready. Society is changing. You’ll be coming back out after a decade locked up. Remember what you did. You are the lucky one, another man is dead.”