Judge sets new date for sentencing convicted murderer

The sentencing of Rodman Moses Lewis, 32, of Goodwill for the murder of his former girlfriend Triscia Riviere, 26, of Stock Farm on Tuesday November 3, 2015 has been rescheduled to Tuesday May 4, 2021 by trial judge Justice Wynante Adrien-Roberts.

Judge Adrien-Roberts initially set Monday February 1, 2021 for that exercise after a jury of five men and four women found Lewis guilty of murder on Thursday November 13, 2020 after less than an hour of deliberations at the Roseau High Court.

One of the orders of the court at the time of the verdict was for a psychiatric report from doctors of the Acute Psychiatric Unit (APU) of the Dominica China Friendship Hospital.

The court was unable to proceed on 1 February because the psychiatric report had not reached the High Court. So sentencing was postponed pending the availability of the medical report.

Matters came to a head last Tuesday when the court had not received the psychiatric report. Two consultants of the APU were summoned to court and one day later given further orders on providing the court and counsel with the report, and the date of May 4, 2021 set for Lewis's sentence.

State Attorney Sherma Dalrymple prosecuted the case for the state over 28 days beginning on Monday October 5, 2021. The state called 22 witnesses to the witness stand. The first was Alana John Baptiste who witness some of the foot-stomping blows rained down on the prostrate deceased by her former lover. Other witnesses were neighbours, some being police officers, a former prison officer and a former male nurse, family members of the deceased and medical doctors.

The police investigating officer was Sergeant Chaucer James. He charged Rodman Moses Lewis with the murder of Triscia Riviere in her kitchen at Stock Farm on the evening of Tuesday November 3, 2015. Attorney Anthony Commodore conducted the defence of Lewis.

Director of Public Prosecutions Evelina Baptiste told the court after the jury was discharged that her office would be seeking the death penalty.