20/09/01 - Drugs killer gets life
By Essex Evening Echo
A heroin dealer who killed a man when a drug deal between the two exploded into violence has been sentenced to life in prison. But Jamal Timberland James, 26, a former DJ, could be free within three years because of the time he has already spent in prison while awaiting trial.
James, who plunged a knife into the buttock of 24-year-old Danny Davis in a fight on a housing estate in Vange, showed little emotion when the jury at Chelmsford Crown Court found him guilty of manslaughter on Tuesday.
However, the judge handed down a life sentence to James after it emerged he had already been convicted of the rape and assault of a teenage girl in Pitsea when he was 14. The court heard that because James, formerly of Malyons, Basildon, had been on remand in custody for 207 days since his arrest, he would be eligible for parole in less than three years.
During the ten-day trial the jury was told by medical experts that the treatment received by Mr Davis at Basildon Hospital was "a catalogue of errors" and "unacceptable."
They said Mr Davis, of Waldegrave, Basildon, would not normally have died from his injuries but that several mistakes were made in his treatment and he died of massive blood loss ten hours after he was rushed into hospital. Hospital bosses have said that in the wake of the trial they would reopen their investigation into Mr Davis's treatment on the night of February 19-20 last year.
Director of nursing Amanda Hallums added that they would also take "any steps necessary" to ensure future patient safety. Mr Davis's father Ray Davis, 55, says he will not be making a complaint or seeking legal action against the hospital.
Fighting back tears he said: "Justice has been done but nothing will ever bring my son back." In mitigation, Patricia Lynch QC, said James had had a very difficult childhood and had been the victim of sexual abuse when he was five.
The judge, Mr Justice Christopher Pitchford, told James: "I find that there are no exceptional circumstances which would permit me to do otherwise than pass a life sentence." He also sentenced James to three years in prison for possession of heroin with intent to supply and for stealing Mr Davis's briefcase and its contents.
