Jail term reduced on appeal

A Marsa man, who was originally jailed for 10 years for excusable wilful homicide, yesterday had his jail term reduced by two years on appeal.

Dominic Briffa, 39, was jailed for 10 years after jurors in his trial returned a guilty verdict for the wilful homicide of Louis Pace, by seven votes to two, but qualified the crime as committed "under the first transport of sudden passion or mental excitement in consequence of which he (was) incapable of reflecting".

Jurors had heard how Briffa fired two shots at Pace in Xemxija Street, Marsa, on September 26, 1996, after Pace broke away from the police, who had been called to sort out a quarrel between the neighbours, and headed for Briffa's front door.

Pace died on the doorstep at the policemen's feet.

During the trial Briffa claimed Pace had been seeking to pick a fight with his partner, Therese Fenech, and, in his own words "it was either him or me".

Briffa, however, appealed claiming that there had been a misapplication of justice by the judge who directed jurors and that the punishment handed down was excessive.

He also argued that the first court had used his case to send a message to society, especially because three people had been shot during the course of the trial that took place in November 1999.

But after reviewing the case documents, Chief Justice Vincent DeGaetano, Mr Justice Joseph Filletti and Mr Justice David Scicluna ruled there had not been a misapplication of justice and that the only fair verdict was the one handed down.

However, due to the circumstances of the case and the jurors' unanimous recommendation for clemency, Briffa deserved a reduction in punishment. For this reason the judges reduced the 10-year jail term to eight years.