A St Andrew security officer who violently assaulted a mentally ill trespasser in 2019 was handed a prison sentence of over 16 years earlier this week, reigniting conversations about the treatment of homeless and vulnerable individuals in Jamaican society.
Martin Powell, previously employed as a security guard at the Coconut Industry Board property on Waterloo Road, pleaded guilty to the murder of an unidentified man who wandered onto the premises in August 2019. Surveillance footage presented in court depicted a horrific scene: Powell repeatedly struck the intruder more than a dozen times, focusing blows on the man’s head, neck, and back, and later dragging his lifeless body to the compound’s entrance.
In sentencing Powell, Supreme Court Justice Carolyn Tie-Powell strongly condemned his actions. The judge’s initial consideration of a 20-year term was increased by eight years due to aggravating factors. These included Powell’s professional responsibility as a security officer, the large number of blows inflicted, the disregard shown to the body after the assault, and the victim’s apparent mental incapacity. However, mitigating elements—such as a positive community reputation and the absence of premeditation—helped reduce the final term to 22 years. Additional reductions were granted for Powell’s early guilty plea and time already served, resulting in a total sentence of 16 years and 11 months, with eligibility for parole after 12 years.
Justice Tie-Powell characterized Powell’s actions as “truly horrendous,” noting they stood in stark contrast to how others had described his character. Throughout the brief sentencing hearing, Powell remained mostly silent, head bowed, as the grim details of his crime were relayed once more.
The 2019 killing was one of several tragic incidents targeting homeless and mentally ill individuals in recent years. In January 2021, authorities took a suspect into custody after a series of gruesome attacks on six homeless men in Kingston left four dead and two critically injured. The government responded by increasing the bed capacity at a downtown Kingston shelter in an effort to better protect this vulnerable population.
Sadly, similar violence persisted. In 2022, Kingston police charged five teenagers with murder for setting fire to a homeless man, Lionel Johnson, who succumbed to severe burns. Another alarming case emerged in April 2023, when a man believed to be mentally ill was fatally stabbed in Portland—marking the fourth murder in that parish that year.
Just a few months later, in September 2023, 25-year-old Montego Bay resident Ronaldo Ricketts was charged with killing four homeless men, while in December 2023, 27-year-old Rushawn Bulgin received a 20-year sentence for beating a homeless man to death with a stone in St James.
These distressing cases shine a spotlight on the country’s ongoing struggle to protect its homeless and mentally ill citizens. The sentencing of Martin Powell underscores the courts’ increasing resolve to address these heinous acts, while advocates urge systemic solutions to ensure no one remains prey to such vicious violence.
