A man accused of murder 16 years ago, is freed.

Ricardo Gittens, was 15-years-old at the time when a man reportedly demanded to have sex with him.

According to reports, one November night in 2005, four people were liming at a house in Arima drinking puncheon when one of them, identified as 45-year-old Joseph Self, indicated he wanted to have sex with another member of the group, a 15-year-old boy.

It said the boy and the other 2 group members then stabbed and chopped the man before pouring gasoline on his body, setting him ablaze and threw him over a precipice.

The release order was made by Justice Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds who ruled that Mr. Gittens, now 36, be released from prison after spending more than 16 years on remand awaiting trial.

He had pleaded guilty to the crime earlier this year.

While the mandatory sentence for capital murder is death by hanging, it does not apply to minors.

However even though he was ordered to be released, Justice Ramsumair-Hinds said this did not mean she had not taken into consideration the magnitude and darkness of the death suffered by Mr. Self.