By NewCo’s Elesha George

A man convicted of killing his transgender partner in 2018 is temporarily free after his lawyer, Wendel Alexander, filed a constitutional motion to prevent his rearrest.

Timothy Jackman was released from Her Majesty’s Prison (HMP) on July 3, ahead of his original 11 years and nine months sentence for the manslaughter of 25-year-old Angel Joseph.

Jackman, now 27, was found guilty in 2020 after Joseph died from a stab wound to the neck during a dispute at their Potters home on August 29, 2018.

Shortly after Jackman’s release, the prison claimed it was an “error” and sought to reincarcerate him, stating he had been released two years early.

Alexander, a former police commissioner, explained that inmates demonstrating good behaviour and hard work are often eligible for early release.

“Inmates have a legitimate expectation of being released on their earlier date if they exhibit good behaviour and work hard,” he said.

Jackman received a card stating his release date as July 3, 2024. Prior to his release, prison officers even requested his brother bring him a change of clothes, only to seek his rearrest days later.

According to court transcripts, the sentencing judge Justice Ann-Marie Smith made what Alexander called a “mathematical error” when she calculated Jackman’s sentence four years ago.

“She did calculate the sentence of 112 months but when you divide 112 months into 12, you come up to about nine years and three months. But for whatever reason, she had sentenced Timothy Jackman to 11 years and nine months,” the lawyer said.

According to Alexander, had Jackman not been supposedly released early, he would have spent longer behind bars than he’d been sentenced to.

The injunction application was heard Thursday morning but was adjourned until August 15 to give the Office of the Attorney General enough time to file an affidavit in reply.

In the meantime, the court asked that Jackman not be rearrested before the next hearing.

“There is somewhat of an interim injunction presently in place based on the undertaking that they would not interfere with him until the 15th of August,” Alexander explained.

Should it be determined that Jackman still has time left to serve, Alexander plans to request a pardon.

“This was a mistake by the prison authorities. He was released legitimately based on the given date,” he asserted. “In light of the fact that this was a mistake that the prison authorities made, he was not released unlawfully, he didn’t jump and skip prison, he didn’t break the prison walls.

“He was released on the date legitimately expected of him because that was the date given.”