The mother of stabbing victim Jermaine (Red) Pitcher said yesterday it was an injustice that her son's killers escaped with a manslaughter conviction while a young man was given life for murder.

Goldie O'Neal spoke out after Gernell Darrell, who admitted stabbing homeless George Kelly once last year, was found guilty last week of murder.

Three men involved in the slaying of her son during a fight outside Champions night club in Reid Street in February last year were all jailed for manslaughter.

The trial heard that Ryan (Tiger) Ball repeatedly stabbed Mr. Pitcher, of St. George's, in the back while Jamal (Knolly) Robinson and Keniel Ingham held him.

Ball and Robinson, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter, were jailed for ten years. Ingham, who stood trial after pleading not guilty to the charge, was jailed for 12 years.

In last week's trial, the jury heard Darrell, 23, of Swansbay Hill, Pembroke, stabbed Mr. Kelly, 42, through the heart after the homeless man stabbed him once in the chest at a taxi rank in Church Street, Hamilton, on May 31 last year.

Mrs. O'Neal told The Royal Gazette yesterday: "It's not fair because a murder is a murder. The killing of my son was intentional because people were telling the guy (Ball) not to go there, but he went there, and that's intentional.

"It's premeditated murder. All of these people should have got murder. In this case with Darrell, I don't know all the details, but as far as I heard he got stabbed and stabbed the guy back harder, which means it could excuse him to some degree.

"He got angry. But in my son's case, two guys held him down and another cut him up, and they got manslaughter? That's not justice.

"I hear people saying they're going to kill someone as they'll only get eight years. If you kill someone and know you are going to do a long time, you will think twice about it, but now they don't think twice. Even the young girls are starting to do it. It's really upside down.

"We're not happy that this boy got life and my son's killers didn't get life and that's why I'm not happy and a lot of other people are not happy. It's not fair."