A convicted killer previously housed in the condemned section of the Port of Spain prison at Frederick Street for decades and whose death sentence was vacated in August 2023 was expected to be released from prison on July 12.

Last year, Mukesh Chandradath’s death sentence was vacated last year by Justice Avason Quinlan-Williams who ruled that any attempt to carry out the death sentence would be in contravention of his constitutional rights. She ordered that he be immediately removed from death row and to be resentenced by a judge in the Criminal Assizes. She also ordered damages for Chandradath which will be assessed at a later date.

Chandradath was re-sentenced by Justice Nalini Singh on July 11.

He was convicted on May 16, 2011, of murdering Selwyn Grant, 65, and his 70-year-old wife Ursula Innis at their home at Allen Drive, Syne Village, Penal.

The couple’s decomposing and headless bodies were discovered by their grandson on September 16, 1999.

Grant was found under an abandoned tank in the yard and his head was found in a bag secured by wire. Innis’ body was found in a bathtub in the bathroom, while her severed head was found in a bag floating in a water tank.

Chandradath filed a malicious prosecution and false imprisonment claim seeking $1 billion in compensation which was unanimously rejected by the Court of Appeal in 2019.

On Thursday, he was sentenced by Singh to 40 years with hard labour for each of the two murders, to run concurrently. The 24 years, nine months and and 20 days he spent in prison were deducted from his sentence. Chandradath also received a discount for the breaches of his constitutional rights.

In her ruling, Singh noted “This prisoner has had several very clear and serious constitutional violations.”

She also considered he, unlike other prisoners, had no access to programmes for rehabilitation because he was on death row for more than a decade.

However, she said from the prison records, Chandradath was allowed to work as a mechanic at the prison and also became an orderly.

“This is a positive indication that this prisoner is committed to personal growth.

“It demonstrates an increased self-awareness, empathy, and a willingness to adhere to ethical principles. To my mind, this is an important indicator of the prisoner’s receptiveness to rehabilitation efforts and his potential for successful reintegration into the community. She also said he was entitled to a remission. This is calculated by prison authorities.

In his constitutional claim, Chandradath described his time on death row in vivid detail.

“The treatment of the inmates in the different divisions is not any different, we are treated in the same inhumane manner. The only difference is that there may be the rare occasion that the officer on duty has some sense of humanity, and in those very rare occasions, we are treated like human beings.

He said the colonial-age prison cells were not ventilated and infested by rats and other vermin.

He added, “When I am taken out for airing I am handcuffed and I h