The Paphos court will announce its decision on 16 October in the case of a 37-year-old British man convicted of causing the death of his three-year-old son through a reckless, careless or dangerous act.
The sentencing mitigation proceedings were completed on Tuesday, with the court hearing submissions from both the prosecution and defence. The decision is expected at 11:00am on 16 October.
Prosecution and defence submissions
The proceedings began with the prosecution, represented by Chryso Perganti, outlining the facts of the case and the relevant allegations. The defence did not dispute the facts presented by the prosecution.
Defence lawyer Alexandros Alexandrou then presented the circumstances of the case and the factors he said should be considered when determining the sentence.
He also submitted documents and other evidence and asked the court to impose the lowest possible sentence provided for under the law.
Defence focuses on circumstances of tragedy
A central part of the defence submission concerned the circumstances in which the tragedy occurred.
Alexandrou argued that it was a moment of inattention in which events unfolded within a matter of seconds.
The prosecution also told the court that the defendant had given written consent to undergo alcohol and drug testing. An initial test showed an alcohol reading of 34mg, while a subsequent laboratory report indicated that he had 124mg of alcohol in his system at the relevant time.
The defence placed particular emphasis on the alcohol evidence, arguing that there was no evidence showing that alcohol had affected the defendant’s behaviour in the specific way alleged.
“There is no evidence that he was not communicating or that he was staggering,” the defence lawyer said.
He also noted that immediately after the incident, his client interacted with dozens of people, including doctors, police officers and nurses.
Defence seeks suspended sentence
The defence asked the court to assess the defendant’s degree of culpability while taking into account his personal and professional circumstances.
Alexandrou referred to his client’s guilty plea, clean criminal record and lengthy professional career.
If the court decides that a prison sentence is warranted, the defence asked for it to be suspended.
The lawyer also argued that the tragedy was something his client would carry with him for the rest of his life and could not be overcome through the imposition of a sentence.
Following the completion of the mitigation proceedings, the court reserved its decision for 16 October.
Until then, the 37-year-old will remain free under the same conditions previously imposed on him.
Also read: Sentencing hearing postponed for British man over death of 3-year-old
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