Convicted killer David Jahwell Cox will have his sentencing reconsidered by his trial judge as a result of a recent ruling by London’s Privy Council.

Cox, 34, was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of the 2010 murder of Raymond Troy (Yankee) Rawlins, who was shot 16 times during a party in a Hamilton nightclub.

The killing was said to be in retaliation for a non-fatal shooting earlier that evening.

During sentencing, Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves called the attack “an arrogant, thoughtless, vengeful assassination of a citizen by another, in the presence of ‘John Citizen’, with total disregard or respect for members of the community”.

He sentenced Cox to life in prison in 2011, ordering that he serve a minimum of 38 years before being eligible for parole.

However, the Privy Council ruled last month in the cases of convicted killers Ze Selassie and Jermaine Pearman that mandatory jail sentences greater than 25 years for premeditated murder are not allowed in Bermuda law. The council ruled that in the case of simple murder a minimum sentence must not exceed 15 years.

Cox appeared before the Court of Appeals yesterday as part of an already scheduled appeal against his conviction, but his lawyer Larry Mussenden requested the court return the matter to Mr Justice Greaves so that he could review the sentence given the ruling.

“He has got to decide whether it’s 25 years or less,” Mr Mussenden said, noting that his client would like to retain the right to appeal the revised sentence later.

Panel president Edmund Zacca remitted the matter to the trial judge so that he could exercise his discretion in light of the Selassie ruling.

The Privy Council ruling is expected to affect the sentencing of several other convicted killers including Kevin Warner, Derek Spalding, Devon Hewey and Jay Dill, who received minimum sentences of between 32 and 40 years.