A woman convicted of murdering her one-year-old daughter was on Friday released from the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre in The Bahamas.
Philippa Phoebe Marshall was convicted of the murder of her daughter Philica Marshall on July 17, 2019 after a jury unanimously rejected her defenses of insanity and diminished responsibility.
On December 28, 2017, Marshall set her baby afire on the instructions of “demons”. The baby died from those burn injuries on February 14, 2018, 47 days after they were inflicted.
Nonetheless, her trial lawyer Bjorn Ferguson convinced then-Senior Justice Bernard Turner that Marshall’s diagnosis of schizophrenia justified a departure from the sentencing guidelines for murder.
As a result, Turner ordered Marshall be detained at SRC for a period of six years, “unless a court determines, based on a medical report submitted to a court by a doctor with special experience in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, that she should be earlier released.”
At the request of Tai Pinder, Marshall’s new lawyer, psychiatrist Dr. Kirk Christie submitted a psychiatric report to Justice Neil Brathwaite.
According to the report, Christie said that Marshall’s symptoms had been “markedly attenuated” and that she could continue to receive treatment as an outpatient.
Marshall’s brother, Charles Whymms, testified that he was prepared to provide his sister with housing and to ensure that she was compliant with her treatment plan.
Whymms had assumed responsibility for Marshall’s lodging and medical care while she was on bail awaiting trial.
Brathwaite noted that he was not being asked to impose or to revisit the sentence already imposed.
Brathwaite said, “Having regard to the report and the evidence of Charles Whymms, I am satisfied that the continued incarceration is not necessary. I, therefore, order that she be immediately released from the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre.”
Addressing Marshall, the judge said, “In order for you to continue to do well for yourself and for your family, you have to remain current with your treatment.”
