EDITOR, The Tribune.

Greetings and thank you for this opportunity to release these several points of interest to scores of Bahamians, many of whom have had direct experiences relating to loved ones being murdered, or harmed by these brazen criminals, etc.

I have been following this shifty belief taken from the caption of your daily newspaper under the theme “We can’t deny the right to bail,” according to the personal belief system of the current Bahamas Attorney General Senator Ryan Pinder.

Well, sir, I have posed the very question in a sidebar with Father God and I must admit that He has a major problem with someone accused of murder(s) being released among members of the public, after being arraigned. God went on to say that a life, for a life and if these people were given bail and commits another crime of murder the blood of the deceased persons... will be on the hands of the Attorney General and the government.

Please don’t tell retired law enforcement officers about the Privy Council, because they, we have-seen-the-Council’s poor record in dealing with punishments for murderers.

Taking you back to 1997, the Bahamas government forwarded applications to the Privy Council, London, England, for 17 convicted felons who were convicted of murder and sentenced to die by hanging (method used by the Commonwealth of The Bahamas from inception). The convicts mentioned were appealing the death sentences. And after deliberation by the Council they were commuted - all 17 of them - to life imprisonment. But here is the kicker, one of the convicted prisoners was suspected of committing eight or more murders.

Now tell me, the man that had committed one murder, received the same judgment as those that were responsible for two, or more, even up to eight, how is this fair? There is always grounds for mitigation, yet the Privy Council found none, or acknowledged one, how come? The law does not behave this way, it alway seeks to break down blame, motives, fairness, justice mitigating circumstances... it doesn’t paint all circumstances with the same brush, is it legally problematic, I think?

I don’t believe that the Privy Council tries cases free-of-charge? I admonish Senator Ryan Pinder & the Progressive Liberal Party government & Prime Minister Honorable Philip Davis to go back into the records... involving the decisions by the Council and I can assure you that the Council had upheld the sentences of death less than 2%.

I have been a proponent of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas establishing its own Bahamas Final Court Appeal (BFCA), for Criminal Cases... but retaining them (Privy Council) for civil commercial cases.

Now, anytime a person breaks the law, did so freely and were aware that the lawbreaker carried imprisonment consequences. And therefore, the focus should not ever be on getting them back in the streets-to recommit, before the system sought to make them reflect on their wrongs,by committing them solitary confinement... how else are they to repay society for the wrong they’ve done?

Finally, if the Bahamas government’s position indicative of that no matter the numbers of murders a person was suspected of committing, they’re still entitled to bail?

If this is the government’s belief system, then may I remind the powers that be of its obligation under the law... you have the statutory powers under Constitution of Bahamas to adjust the laws and make new effective ones... you also are able to repeal laws, etc? So, technically, you have no excuse, do your job, otherwise?

What I find interesting is how when some foreign individual(s) were charged with serious crimes in this country and the question of granting them bail comes up... the prosecution would object to claiming flight risks? How come when people charged with murder goes/comes before the Criminal Court, no similar submissions proffered?

It is unlawful and problematic... for a person let out on bail, incarcerated for crime of murder to get out and recommit the another murder, because the powers that be believed more greatly in the freedom of the convicted person... than the law abiding citizens ( who were just going about their daily lives), when the gunmen struck.

This revolving door is an affront, unfair law enforcement... after all of the dangerous and hard work to corral these criminals...many within days were back on the streets, plying their illegal, ill gotten trades.

These were some of the issues confronting Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslades from way back then... and now the new Police Commissioner is being saddled by the exact same scenarios...these government’s need to get serious, otherwise our Tourist trade could be threatened?

The solution to the crime fight is not difficult at all. Law enforcement must make up between 5% to 7% of the overall population, so that all kinds of tactical operations can be ventured. Also of consequence is the employment status of especially young men between 16-25 years and status in gangs, etc. A robust crime prevention arm of law enforcement is of the utmost importance.

The programmes for inmates are also important and for the sake of trying to mitigate the recidivism potential, etc. While there is no one thing that can cancel out the criminal elements and stamp out crimes of all manner, we will have to remain focused and have no tolerance for it.

This backlog of cases...If you’re having 10-000 (ten thousand cases per month), you ought to have at least 120 courts for that number? And when I worked the Attorney General’s Office that over 100,000 cases that made up the backlog, anyone ever wondered what that sum of cases represented? I will tell you... Those were the completed files from Police Investigators-Royal Bahamas Police Force, & Divisions like your Criminal Investigation Department, Drug Enforcement Unit, etc. But, the problem came from the proper lack of essentially receiving those completed files by police...and courts concluding their part of the deal to the-finish line?

Also, problematic were thousands of Police Traffic warrants outstanding...Mr Police Commissioner sir, I don’t know how it is possible to bring sanity to it all if the government is not prepared to spend the kinds of money, to bring the resources you will need to do the job, why?

Backlog of cases can take place, but must consider how many cases make up the backlog, and divided by number of courts...will help to give some idea how to tabulate what is needed to handle these sitting down causes (inactive).

FRANK GILBERT

Nassau,

August 12, 2022.