Three men convicted and jailed for life over the "vicious premeditated murder" of Matthew Clarke should never be released, according to a judge.

Shannon Tucker, 33, Vernon Simons, 24, and Kyle Sousa, 18, stabbed Mr. Clarke 26 times and bludgeoned him over the head with a metal pole before leaving him dead in bed.

They were found guilty of murder by the unanimous verdicts of a jury yesterday.

Reacting to the convictions, Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves said the slaying ranks among the worst he's ever seen.

He told the murderers: "It is my view that given the nature of this crime and the manner in which it was carried out, that you three are too dangerous to be allowed to walk around in civilised society again, and that you should spend the rest of your natural lives in prison."

Songwriter and producer Mr. Clarke was murdered at his apartment in North Shore Road, Pembroke in broad daylight on the afternoon of April 9, 2008.

His body was discovered a short time later by his fiancee and the mother of his two children, Charlitta Spencer.

Prosecutors believe the attack stemmed from a busted drug importation plot Simons and Tucker are facing separate charges over.

They are thought to have blamed 31-year-old Mr. Clarke for this, and roped in Sousa to help kill him on a promise of $1,000. The defendants denied this during their month-long trial.

They stared straight ahead as the forewoman convicted them after three-and-a-half hours of deliberations. Teenager Sousa's eyes later filled with tears as he shook his head slowly from side to side.

The verdicts were greeted with quiet sobbing from family and friends in the public gallery, following a warning from Mr. Justice Greaves that any outcry would be punished. The judge told the trio: "The jury of your peers has, by a unanimous verdict, found you guilty of the offence of murder. In my view, this was a very vicious premeditated murder."

Turning to the mandatory life sentence, he highlighted the long-standing friendship Tucker claimed to have had with Mr. Clarke.

"You, Tucker, in particular, to have attacked your friend in this manner and to take his life in the manner in which you have done....it makes one shudder what you would do to an enemy instead," he remarked. Tucker protested: "That's not true your honour."

The judge continued: "And you, Simons, is just as bad. Sousa, I can't help but think you are one dangerous little hit man."

He noted that judges have no power to set a defined prison term under current sentencing rules. The life sentence means each man must serve a minimum of 15 years behind bars before he can apply to the Parole Board for release.

However, Mr. Justice Greaves told the killers: "In respect of each of you, it is my view, even if it's found later that I do have the authority to sentence you to a defined period of imprisonment, I would find it very difficult to do so for less than 50 years."

In fact, he said, he believes they should remain in jail until they die. "Whether the authorities wish to parole you in the future, that's a matter entirely for them, but it's my view that you should spend the maximum time possible in jail. I've seen many murder cases. This one is on the top shelf it is one of the worst I have ever seen," he remarked.

Tucker was arrested five hours after the murder was discovered, with the others detained over the following four days. In Police interviews and Supreme Court evidence, each admitted having travelled to the scene in Tucker's truck and seen the murder take place. However, each blamed the others for the attack, claiming they were only there as an innocent bystander.

Tucker and Simons are facing separate charges over the shipment of ecstasy and cannabis, which was found by a Police sniffer dog in January 2008 in machine parts for Tucker's construction firm. Simons worked as a labourer for Tucker, who also employed Mr. Clarke in the past. Despite allegations that Tucker and Simons blamed Mr. Clarke for the drug plot, he was never arrested and was not part of the investigation according to evidence during the case.

Invited to comment during the sentencing proceedings, Tucker said: "I just want to say to his family and friends, his colleagues and everybody: I'm not a killer. I did not murder your son nor your brother." He claimed he'd not had a fair trial and there was evidence that had not been put to the jury, but added: "I'm sorry for your lost one. I have myself to blame."

Simons said: "To the Clarke family: you have my condolences." Sousa chose to remain silent.

The victim's brother Michael Clarke, 35, said afterwards that he was unsurprised by the guilty verdicts, and agreed the men should spend the rest of their lives in jail. "I want to thank the prosecutors and the Police for their efforts. We've had a positive result," he told The Royal Gazette.

Mr. Clarke added that he'd gleaned interesting information yesterday about the circumstances of the murder. "Apparently my brother was to meet the Police that day to give the Police some sort of information. Apparently, these individuals didn't want him to," he said.

Of the allegations during the trial that his younger brother was involved with drugs, he added: "It hurt, but my brother was never charged, never accused, never even involved in anything like that. To hear those allegations and all their stories, flip-flopping backwards and forwards, I don't see how anyone can take anything they said at face value."

The murderers were driven off to jail in a fleet of prison vans and Police cars, which made their way through Hamilton with a cacophony of sirens.