New Judge Ordered to Impose Fixed Sentence for Murder Convict

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Appeal Court judges have upheld the murder conviction of a man found responsible for an ambush shooting but they said his life sentence was too harsh and ordered a new judge to impose a fixed sentence.

Franklyn “Chilly” Edgecombe, 55, was convicted in 2023 of the murder of Rico Archer.

According to the evidence, on December 11, 2018, Archer was walking home from a neighborhood store in Mason’s Addition when Edgecombe began firing at him.

Archer ran for his life, with Edgecombe in pursuit, and, once he fell to the ground, Edgecombe allegedly stood over him and fired several more times.

When imposing the life sentence, Justice Franklyn Williams KC said that Edgecombe showed no remorse for the crime and that his repeated contact with the criminal justice system over the past 30 years demonstrated that he was incapable of reforming.

However, the Court said that Williams failed to consider whether the likelihood of Edgecombe reoffending was so great that a life sentence was the only option.