Bona murder | Allan Galea guilty of excusable wilful homicide, jailed for 6 years

Allan Galea gets 6 years for the homicide of loan shark Anthony Borg, known as il-Bona, whom he stabbed to death in Marsaxlokk village square.

Allan Galea
Allan Galea

Marsaxlokk monti hawker Allan Galea has been sentenced to 6 years after a jury found him guilty of homicide of loan shark Anthony Borg, known as il-Bona, whom he had stabbed to death in Marsaxlokk village square in 2010.

For the crime of excusable homicide and that of carrying a sharp or pointed object without the necessary licence, Mr. Justice Antonio Mizzi sentenced Galea to 6 years in prison. Galea was facing a possible life sentence had he been convicted of wilful homicide without the excuse of excess in self-defence.

Galea made a point of shaking hands with and thanking all three of his defence lawyers, before he was led away.

Earlier this afternoon, the jury held that the homicide was excusable due to excess of self-defence, as Borg had discharged a firearm in the moments immediately preceding his death.

MORE Reports from the Anthony Borg murder jury

The jurors returned the 6-3 verdict in little over four hours – a remarkably brief end to a trial by jury that has taken 16 days.

During submissions on punishment, lawyer Lara Lanfranco from the office of the Attorney General requested the court impose a punishment close to the maximum, citing the serious nature of the act. "The message to the public should be that we do not live in a jungle but there are rules that regulate these situations." 

She also highlighted the fact that "this was not the trial of Anthony Borg, but that of Allan Galea", a point which had been stressed by the prosectuion throughout the trial.

For the defence, lawyer Joe Giglio pointed out that while the offence of excusable wilful homicide was punishable with a maximum of 12 years imprisonment, there was no minimum punishment at law. “This man is here because three weeks before the incident, someone took offence at him touching his choker,” the lawyer argued.

“You must see the background to the excess. Whilst the jurors have reached the conclusion of excess, you must see who the person facing him was, together with the shots which had been fired moments before, as well as the fact that the victim was accompanied by other persons, at least one of whom was armed."

Giglio had appealed to the judge to bear in mind the reputation of the victim and that of the accused who was simply going out ot eat with his girlfriend when deciding on the punishment.

"The prosecution’s submissions do not recognise the circumstances of the case and are not respecting the wishes of the jury," Giglio maintained. "The verdict says that this man satisfies the three requisites of legitimate self-defence. The excess is a consequence of who the victim is and his actions. This man decided to enter into the life of the accused for reasons which are completely unacceptable and caused him to suffer five years of trauma. The verdict says that the aggression was unjust and grave and the jurors have also recognised that his actions were inevitable, but that he exceeded the limits of self-defence."

Giglio said that the accused had been faced with great difficulty in proving that he had reacted in this way, pointing to the fact that the victim's firearm had been hidden, as had the truncheon used to beat him afterwards, "and we also had witnesesses perjuring themselves".

"After the fact, there were those who had an interest in hiding the truth and obscuring the traces of a crime," the lawyer said. “The accused was not just fighting il-Bona and his family, but also people focused on misleading justice... The greatest price that the accused has paid, the greatest trauma, is the fact that he is here today. Not because he wanted to be here, but because somebody else brought him here. " In closing, he pointed out that no legal impediment existed preventing the court from handing down a non-custodial sentence. 

Lawyers Lara Lanfranco and Kristina Debattista from the Attorney General's Office led the prosecution, while lawyer Giannella de Marco, Joe Giglio and Steven Tonna Lowell were defence counsel. Lawyers Franco Debono and Matthew Brincat appeared in parte civile for the family of the deceased.

Mr Justice Antonio Mizzi presided.