‘I want this to finish with her in prison’ - Machete attack victim demands imprisonment for accused

A woman who was reportedly chopped on her arm by another woman in a machete attack in Montego Bay, bluntly told the St James Parish Court on Wednesday that she wants her attacker to be imprisoned.

The complainant made the declaration moments after the defendant, Pansett Stewart-Anderson, pleaded not guilty to unlawful wounding. The court was told that on May 12, at 7 a.m., the complainant was walking along Jimmy Cliff Boulevard when she looked up and saw Stewart-Anderson looking at her. The complainant reportedly spat on the ground and continued walking. Moments later, the complainant heard footsteps behind her and when she turned, she saw Stewart-Anderson with a machete in hand. Stewart-Anderson then chopped the complainant on her arm, causing a wound which bled. The complainant made a report to the police, and Stewart-Anderson was subsequently arrested and charged.

Following the disclosure of the allegations, the clerk of the court told presiding Parish Judge Kaysha Grant-Pryce that the complainant was rejecting all suggestions of going to mediation to settle the issue with Stewart-Anderson.

"How do you think this matter can be ended in your favour? What do you want? How do you want this matter to end for you?" Grant-Pryce asked the complainant directly.

"I want to get justice, Miss," the complainant answered readily.

"What is the justice for you?" Judge Grant-Pryce queried.

"I want this to finish with her in prison, Miss," the complainant replied flatly. The court was also told that the medical certificate is currently outstanding from the prosecution's case file.

Grant-Pryce subsequently set the matter for mention on July 25, and extended Stewart-Anderson's bail to that date, while also ordering her to submit her fingerprints to the police. The judge also bound over the complainant and the investigating officer to return to court on that date.