By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

AN amendment to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act will allow for people convicted of certain criminal offences - including Emergency Order violations - to make “immediate application” to have their records expunged.

National Security Minister Wayne Munroe, who led debate on the Rehabilitation of Offenders (Amendment) Bill 2022 yesterday, said the legislation is demonstration of the Davis administration’s commitment to fulfilling its promises to the Bahamian people.

“This particular bill fulfils a commitment made to the Bahamian people in the blueprint for change,” Mr Munroe said during his contribution in the House of Assembly. “In page 14... we committed to expunge records of minor offences in violation of emergency orders.”

“In my view, these sections would do well to be considered because we say, and I quote ‘we will rescue the most vulnerable and discouraged in our society’.

“I refer to that because the sad history of the emergency orders saw the brutalisation of some of the most vulnerable in our society as was chronicled in page after page in the national press reporting of convictions of persons for breaches of the orders made under the emergency powers regime.”

Continuing his criticism of the Emergency Powers Orders, Mr Munroe lamented that some people have lost opportunities and suffered traumatic experiences because of the COVID related convictions.

However, with the new bill, the Freetown MP said the government will be able to “right the wrongs” of the past.

“It cannot be right that one could accept as an explanation from the then health minister that a plane is permitted to land because it has vital medical supplies and nothing adverse (happens). We do not see the matter before the court. We do not hear a conviction, but the young men who have a need to go to the water park for water don’t have the benefit of that as an explanation good enough to explain why they can come out of their yards,” he said.

“It is just amazing that the impact of these laws seems to impact disproportionately on the poor, on the homeless, on the disadvantaged and seem to skip right over the rich, the privileged and in one instance, a sitting Cabinet minister happened to admit breach of the law, I didn’t notice him being put before the court and being made subject to a conviction.

“We have the phenomenon, which is a national disgrace of Charles Johnson, a man in his 60s who was confined to his house without electricity and without running water who, after weeks, decided he needed some fresh air, stepped outside of his house and was hauled before the courts and has a conviction at 60 for a criminal offence.”

After the emergency orders were put in place, scores of people were prosecuted for various offences, including violating curfew.

The situation forced many to apply to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Committee to have their records expunged.

However, the process was not automatic and often took some time.

Yesterday, Mr Munroe said the amendment will allow for people convicted of certain offences, including COVID-19 violations, to make “immediate application” to his ministry for expungement.

“What we, therefore, have is the ability for any person to apply to the minister now, the other regime permitted for application to the rehabilitation of offender’s committee whose decision was then ratified or otherwise by the minister,” the Freetown MP continued. “This is a shorter process with immediate application to the minister for expungement of certain offences. The time period is shortened from two years under the advocate of the rehabilitation of offenders committee to six months.”

“And so just as the amendment to the Evidence Act provides, this amendment will almost automatically permit people who have been pestering the Ministry of National Security as to when we will address these offences to make immediate application for expungement.”

The Rehabilitation of Offenders (Amendment) Bill, 2022 includes a new section 15, which notes the minister’s discretion to declare certain people rehabilitated.

The bill says the “minister may by order, subject to affirmative resolution of both Houses of Parliament, declare any or all persons convicted of any class of criminal offence specified in the order to be treated as a rehabilitated person in respect of that offence; have his conviction in respect of that offence treated as spent, and have his record for the conviction of the offence expunged, whether or not the rehabilitation period specified for that offence under Section 4(2) has been met.”

However, the amendment does not apply to people who have committed murder, manslaughter, treason, armed robbery, rape or possessed dangerous drugs with the intent to supply.

Central Grand Bahama MP Iram Lewis said while he supports expunging records for people convicted of minor offences, the bill needs to provide more clarity regarding which offences can be expunged by the minister among other things.

He was also of the view that the Bill left too much to the discretion of the minister.

“The Bill does not speak to the type of offences that the minister has discretion to expunge. There should be a specific schedule and there is already one included in the act,” he told parliamentarians.

“Why is it that this government wants to move away from what we already have that works. In principle I am for expunging the minor offences, but this bill must be more specific in terms of what offence the minister has purview over.

“Further, I believe the power should stay with the committee and not the minister and parliament. That’s my view.”