Convicted murderer finally serves sentence after more than a decade in prison

HHis initial sentence was 20 years in prison. However, convicted murderer Ian Anderson Parker is now a free man after his sentence was commuted several times, including for the more than 11 years he has already served in prison.

Parker, of Bellaire, St. Philip, denied murdering Brad Gittens on Sept. 26, 2012, but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

The court heard the two men lived nearby and on the day Gittens was attacked he had just left a nearby shop and was walking along Union Hall Main Road towards Sam Lord’s Castle, passing Parker’s home.

Witness statements state that after Parker walked out of the home, he began swearing at Gittens, saying “I’m tired of you asshole threatening me. I’m tired of you talking bullshit to me.” Gittens did not respond and continued walking, but Parker followed. Parker’s mother was on the patio and Gittens told her to “tell her son to stop,” which she did several times but was ignored. Parker then handcuffed Gittens and Gittens fell to the ground. He continued to beat and kick Gittens, who did not fight back but repeatedly told him to stop. Parker’s father intervened and pulled his son off of Gittens. They walked away and the witness and Parker’s mother went to help Gittens, trying to treat his injuries and calling an ambulance. At this point, Parker returned with a concrete block and hit Gittens in the face with it at least twice while he was lying on his back, breaking the concrete block in the process. Gittens was taken to the hospital in critical condition and later died.

An autopsy revealed he died from blunt force trauma to the head and severe brain damage.

In an interview with police, Parker admitted to attacking Gittens and said “he kept insulting me and calling me a jerk face.”

During a sentencing hearing in Supreme Court No. 2 on Monday, Judge Randall Worrell said despite the animosity between the two men, Parker’s actions that day were inexcusable.

“You’re a smart person. If that man was harassing you, you should have called the police. There’s no need to deal with it the way you did.” the judge told the now 56-year-old man, before giving a starting sentence of 20 years.

He then deducted a mitigating factor of one year, while also granting a one-third reduction in sentence to take into account Parker’s early guilty plea, 4,189 days spent on remand and 540 days of trial delay.

“The remainder of the sentence has been credited, so Mr. Parker, the sentence has been served. That is the sentence. I wish you the best for the future,” the judge said.

Parker thanked Judge Worrell and expressed condolences to Gittens’ relatives: “I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to the deceased’s family. I acknowledge that I am responsible for his death.”

Crown counsel Michael Lashley and attorney Sade Harris represented Parker, while chief state counsel Olivia Davis prosecuted the case.