Jealous Bahamian wife stays in prison after blinding woman she thought wanted her man

A Bahamian woman who blinded and disfigured the woman she believed was sleeping with her husband will stay behind bars for seven years after the Court of Appeal refused to reduce her sentence.

Pandora McKenzie, 68, had begged the court to reduce the time she must spend in prison for causing dangerous harm, but the judges were not moved. They said the incident was planned and vicious from start to finish.

Facts are that McKenzie lured the victim to a location under the false claim that she only wanted to talk. Instead, she waited with a corrosive substance hidden in a cup. When the woman arrived, McKenzie flung the burning liquid into her face, leaving her blinded and badly disfigured. She then armed herself with a cutlass as the victim struggled in pain.

The judges said the magistrate was right to describe the matter as one of the most serious cases she had ever seen, given the extent of the injuries.

During the original trial, the court heard that McKenzie's husband had invited the victim to the home in Grand Bahama to convince his wife that they were not involved romantically. Both the husband and the woman insisted they were not having an affair.

But McKenzie was not convinced, and the confrontation quickly turned into violence. Her husband had to wrestle away the cutlass to stop the attack from getting worse.

Her lawyer argued that the seven year sentence was too severe, but the prosecution stood firm, saying the punishment fit the crime. The Appeal Court agreed and dismissed the appeal.

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