By RASHAD ROLLE
Tribune News Editor
rrolle@tribunemedia.net
TWO witnesses who say they fear for their lives will testify anonymously against a man accused of a 2021 Harbour Island murder, after a Supreme Court judge rejected his argument that the law allowing secret witnesses is unconstitutional.
Justice Dale Fitzpatrick ruled on Friday that the witnesses, known only as “Alpha” and “Beta”, can give evidence by video link with their identities hidden at the trial of Clarington Bowleg. Bowleg is charged with murdering Anthony Petit, who was shot dead at his home on Barrack Street on February 5, 2021.
Justice Fitzpatrick said witness intimidation was a real and serious problem in The Bahamas.
“The prevalence of retaliatory conduct and gun violence directed at witnesses is a troubling and recurring feature of the criminal court landscape here,” he said.
Under the process now used in the Supreme Court for anonymous witnesses, the witness sits in a separate room or building and appears on video. The judge, the jury and the prosecutors see and hear the witness clearly, wearing noise-cancelling headphones. Bowleg and his lawyer will see the witness only on a monitor in the courtroom that obscures the witness’s appearance and distorts their voice.
Bowleg argued that being unable to face his accusers would breach his constitutional right to a fair trial. Justice Fitzpatrick said this was a legitimate concern but not decisive on its own. He rejected his broader claim that the Criminal Evidence (Witness Anonymity) Act is unconstitutional, finding that it strikes a reasonable balance between protecting vulnerable witnesses and the rights of the accused.
She said the impact on Bowleg was reduced because the judge and jury can fully observe the witnesses, and he keeps the full opportunity to cross-examine them.
“It must be recognised that the right to a fair trial is not a consideration confined exclusively to the accused,” she said.
According to the ruling, Alpha gave a statement to police the day after the shooting saying he or she saw the killing. Beta said he or she saw Petit walk into the backyard of his home, then heard gunshots and saw a man running from the area with a gun. Both said they had lived in Eleuthera all their lives and had known the accused for years, and both picked Bowleg out of a 12-man photo line-up two days after the killing.
In statements given last month, both witnesses said they feared for their lives and would only testify if allowed to remain anonymous. Beta said the fear stemmed partly from the small size of the island.
Justice Fitzpatrick found both had a reasonable fear of injury or death. He said that in a small, close-knit community where residents generally know one another, it was reasonable that a witness would see himself or herself as particularly vulnerable without anonymity. He found their evidence was reliable and highly probative on the central issue of who fired the shots.
The judge also weighed the witnesses’ criminal records. Alpha has eight convictions over 23 years, and Beta nine over nine years. All were for relatively minor offences, none for dishonesty, and none resulted in a jail sentence. Any motive to lie, he said, can be pursued by the defence in cross-examination.
Bowleg was 29 when he was charged in February 2021. He has been remanded in custody.
Bahamian law has allowed anonymous witnesses since 2011, but its use has been contested. In 2017, the Court of Appeal quashed Bruce Colebrooke’s murder conviction because a key witness had been screened from the judge and jury, and ordered a retrial. Parliament amended the law the following year. Last year, Senior Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson allowed a key witness in Colebrooke’s retrial to testify anonymously.
Timothy Bailey appeared for the prosecution. Damien White represented Bowleg.
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