The Tribune

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Staff Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

EMBATTLED former magistrate Joseph Alfred died “peacefully” last week in his native Trinidad.

Often described as independent and courageous, the 78-year-old retired justice served in the Bahamas as a Stipendiary and Circuit magistrate for more than ten years, between 1980 and 1992.

In a notable ruling in 1989, Justice Alfred convicted Acklins and Crooked Island MP, the late Wilbert Moss, for attempting to bribe a magistrate on behalf of a constituent. Mr Moss was accused of offering a $10,000 “advantage” to the magistrate.

Justice Alfred faced two severe threats on his life during his term in the Bahamas.

The first occurred in 1988 when his home was destroyed by a suspicious fire, of which there was no proof of arson.

The second incident occurred two years later in 1990, when his three-bedroom home was sprayed with bullets. An attack that police believed, at the time, to be fueled by his decision to jail a drug trafficker.

The magistrate was hailed as “fearless” when he declared that guns would not deter him from doing his duty.

In 1992, then-Bar Association president J Henry Bostwick expressed regret over Justice Alfred’s resignation, adding that he had “given his best at all times” in accordance with his “strict application of the law”.

In 2000, then-Bar Association president Dr Peter Maynard questioned why Justice Alfred’s services were not extended after he had reached the retirement age, given that he was an excellent and very fair jurist.

According to sources, the retired justice took ill while he was in Trinidad visiting his family over the holidays and died on Friday, February 7.

Funeral services for Justice Alfred will be held at 9am today at All Saints Anglican Church, Trinidad, followed by private cremation.