The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

A PROMINENT lawyer said the government should focus on promptly trying accused criminals to keep them off the street as he explained why it was “unnecessary” for new bail restrictions.

Lawyer Wayne Munroe was contacted by The Tribune for comment a day after the House of Assembly passed an amended Bail Act.

Mr Munroe branded the new changes as a “knee jerk reaction” to a “festering” problem in the court system where he said there are a lot of diversionary tactics.

Those tactics often result in people sitting behind bars for 12 to 18 months, as the prosecution “twiddles their thumbs” while claiming to build a good case for why the person should be tried, he said.

It is during that time, Mr Munroe said, when a judge is likely to grant bail.

Mr Munroe said: “The police always say that these people are so dangerous. Well if that is the case, if a person is so dangerous, then try them and do it promptly.

“In all the years I have been practising, I have seen it countless times where a person is made to sit behind bars while the prosecution twiddles their thumbs purporting to have a good case against the person.

“Twelve to 18 months pass by and that person is still sitting behind bars. Within that time, they have lost their family, their house, their car, the life they have built.

“So if a judge turns around and gives the person bail, you cannot get upset.

“In other countries, when a person is wronged in that way, they are paid. Here in the Bahamas, in those cases the person isn’t paid or even offered an apology.

“Let’s get past this. Try them promptly if they are guilty.”

On Wednesday, the government moved the Bill as a response to  widespread criticism that courts too often grant bail to people who commit serious offences and then re-offend. 

Under the current Bail Act, people charged with major crimes such as murder, armed robbery, rape, possession of automatic weapons, possession of a firearm with intent and kidnapping are prohibited from receiving bail except when the court believes the person was not tried within a reasonable time or are unlikely to be tried within a reasonable time, so long as certain conditions are met.

Under the Bill to Amend the Bail Act, applicants, as opposed to the prosecution, will have the onus of proving that they should be granted bail.

The court will be forced to consider the safety of alleged victims of their crimes when deciding whether to grant bail. 

The amendments will also protect complainants and prevent the “fraudulent practice of professional bondsman”.