butter and climaxed with charges that he caved in a 68-year-old's head with a wrench.

He was born in Bermuda on May 14, 1960, the son of calypso singer Joe (Conch Shell) Benjamin, later notorious in London for sounding his conch in public.

Watson grew up in a foster home and then junior training school, believing his name to be Shane Benjamin. While in training school for minor offences, he met Ricky Smith.

On finding his birth certificate, Watson adopted his present name. After sharing an apartment with Smith he became godfather to his children.

After a series of convictions for stealing, he decided to settle down.

Construction boss Mr. Freddie Thomas gave him a job and a home and became a father figure to him, even allowing him the authority to hire his friend Smith.

Up to the Doe assault in December, 1988, Watson was doing well. A keen martial arts fan and cyclist, he was earning more than $700 a week and travelling to the US.

During nearly four years in jail he has learned shorthand and taken up creative writing. He reads dictionaries, learning 10 words a day and examining himself on how to use them. He has even become a Bermuda Library Society member.

Said Mr. Thomas: "Watson just never got a break in his life. He's one of those individuals who has just not got a strong mind to control his life, and can be led astray by `friends'.''