Bahamas News
11-22-04, - 02:21 AM
Alleged Murderers Walk
Macushla N. Pinder
The Bahama Journal
The recent acquittals of several murder suspects has one defence attorney raising the alarm about whether flaws in the criminal justice system is leading to murderers walking away free men.
Godfrey “Pro” Pinder yesterday told the Bahama Journal that while the “judicial system and the laws of the land are intact,” there is a certain degree of inefficiency in how the judicial system is operated.
“I think that maybe people in the Attorney General’s Office and the police are not as efficient or as competent as they should be in dealing with these matters,” he said.
“I think if the matters were dealt with in a competent fashion and persons are dealt with in a way [so] they feel they can come and testify without the police pressuring them, I think they would do so. But apparently they don’t feel obligated to do their civic duty.
“And maybe that’s because of a lack of respect for the system itself and the way police do things because I know that people would probably want to come and see that justice is done. But maybe the atmosphere is not ripe, or simply that the justice system is not adequate for this to be done.”
This past week four men were acquitted of murder.
Among them were Mr. Pinder’s clients, Ian Porter and Marvin Reckley, who on Tuesday walked away free men after being charged with the 2001 murder of Donald Smith.
The acquittal came after the prosecutor in the case “failed to locate” approximately 10 police, civic and material witnesses, including the victim’s sister.
Mr. Pinder maintained throughout the trial that his clients were in Kingston, Jamaica when the murder occurred.
Reckley later turned himself over to police. Porter was arrested on another “minor” charge and consequently charged in connection with Smith’s death.
Tuesday’s hearing marked the second murder trial for the men, after one witness in the old trial was reportedly charged with giving a false report to the police.
According to Mr. Pinder, when the matter was returned to court, one of the witnesses refused to turn up, fuelling speculation that the witness may have been coerced into giving evidence.
Prosecutors in the Attorney General’s Officer have also become increasingly worried about the threat to the administration of justice being caused by witnesses who change their statements under oath.
In an earlier interview with the Bahama Journal, Director of Public Prosecutions Bernard Turner acknowledged that something must be done to stop justice from being undermined.
According to one official, this may involve pushing for stricter penalties for witnesses found guilty of lying under oath and also preventing defense teams from having access to prosecution witnesses.
Jurors in the murder trial of Andrew Kivivarakis were also left with no other choice this past Wednesday but to return a not guilty verdict.
That decision came after the prosecutor’s star witness, Police Constable Sean Ferguson, failed to appear in the Supreme Court.
Justice Anita Allen instructed the jury to return a not guilty verdict in the case as a result. Kikivarakis was accused of murdering Wayde Clarke back in December 2001.
In another matter last week, a jury returned a not guilty verdict in the murder trial of Obefemi Gibson, 23.
Defence attorney, Murrio Ducille, had argued that there were inconsistencies in the prosecution’s case, which was built around a confession that pointed to Gibson’s alleged involvement in the murder of a police officer in Long Islandfour years ago.
Mr. Ducille said the police had beaten his client into signing the confession.
“I don’t know what the prosecution is doing - maybe they don’t have enough help,” Mr. Pinder said.
“But I think if they were more expeditious in bringing matters before the court- and not wait so long – I’m guessing that they would have a better opportunity to get the witnesses to come because at least some of them lived abroad and was traveling back and forth. Therefore, they might have felt that it was a waste of their time.”
But Mr. Pinder also feels that the police must shoulder some of the blame.
“There seems to be a shortage of trained officers to deal with these things,” he said. “Even when the police come to the trials, they still don’t have the fingerprints or the tests. They don’t show any forensic incrimination or even a thorough investigation or study of anything before the court.”
Macushla N. Pinder
The Bahama Journal
The recent acquittals of several murder suspects has one defence attorney raising the alarm about whether flaws in the criminal justice system is leading to murderers walking away free men.
Godfrey “Pro” Pinder yesterday told the Bahama Journal that while the “judicial system and the laws of the land are intact,” there is a certain degree of inefficiency in how the judicial system is operated.
“I think that maybe people in the Attorney General’s Office and the police are not as efficient or as competent as they should be in dealing with these matters,” he said.
“I think if the matters were dealt with in a competent fashion and persons are dealt with in a way [so] they feel they can come and testify without the police pressuring them, I think they would do so. But apparently they don’t feel obligated to do their civic duty.
“And maybe that’s because of a lack of respect for the system itself and the way police do things because I know that people would probably want to come and see that justice is done. But maybe the atmosphere is not ripe, or simply that the justice system is not adequate for this to be done.”
This past week four men were acquitted of murder.
Among them were Mr. Pinder’s clients, Ian Porter and Marvin Reckley, who on Tuesday walked away free men after being charged with the 2001 murder of Donald Smith.
The acquittal came after the prosecutor in the case “failed to locate” approximately 10 police, civic and material witnesses, including the victim’s sister.
Mr. Pinder maintained throughout the trial that his clients were in Kingston, Jamaica when the murder occurred.
Reckley later turned himself over to police. Porter was arrested on another “minor” charge and consequently charged in connection with Smith’s death.
Tuesday’s hearing marked the second murder trial for the men, after one witness in the old trial was reportedly charged with giving a false report to the police.
According to Mr. Pinder, when the matter was returned to court, one of the witnesses refused to turn up, fuelling speculation that the witness may have been coerced into giving evidence.
Prosecutors in the Attorney General’s Officer have also become increasingly worried about the threat to the administration of justice being caused by witnesses who change their statements under oath.
In an earlier interview with the Bahama Journal, Director of Public Prosecutions Bernard Turner acknowledged that something must be done to stop justice from being undermined.
According to one official, this may involve pushing for stricter penalties for witnesses found guilty of lying under oath and also preventing defense teams from having access to prosecution witnesses.
Jurors in the murder trial of Andrew Kivivarakis were also left with no other choice this past Wednesday but to return a not guilty verdict.
That decision came after the prosecutor’s star witness, Police Constable Sean Ferguson, failed to appear in the Supreme Court.
Justice Anita Allen instructed the jury to return a not guilty verdict in the case as a result. Kikivarakis was accused of murdering Wayde Clarke back in December 2001.
In another matter last week, a jury returned a not guilty verdict in the murder trial of Obefemi Gibson, 23.
Defence attorney, Murrio Ducille, had argued that there were inconsistencies in the prosecution’s case, which was built around a confession that pointed to Gibson’s alleged involvement in the murder of a police officer in Long Islandfour years ago.
Mr. Ducille said the police had beaten his client into signing the confession.
“I don’t know what the prosecution is doing - maybe they don’t have enough help,” Mr. Pinder said.
“But I think if they were more expeditious in bringing matters before the court- and not wait so long – I’m guessing that they would have a better opportunity to get the witnesses to come because at least some of them lived abroad and was traveling back and forth. Therefore, they might have felt that it was a waste of their time.”
But Mr. Pinder also feels that the police must shoulder some of the blame.
“There seems to be a shortage of trained officers to deal with these things,” he said. “Even when the police come to the trials, they still don’t have the fingerprints or the tests. They don’t show any forensic incrimination or even a thorough investigation or study of anything before the court.”