Brentiano Sands v Director of Public Prosecutions

• Jurisdiction: Bahamas
• Judge: Neil Brathwaite
• Judgment Date: 16 October 2024
• Docket Number: 2018/CRI/bail/00912
• Court: Supreme Court (Bahamas)

Between

Brentiano Sands

Applicant

and

Director of Public Prosecutions

Respondent

Before:

The Hon. Justice Neil Brathwaite

2018/CRI/bail/00912

IN THE SUPREME COURT

CRIMINAL LAW DIVISION

Appearances:

Applicant Pro Se

Ms. Kara Butler-White, Ms. Vashti Bridgewater for the Respondent

RULING ON BAIL

1 The Applicant stands accused of the offence of Murder, for which he has been in custody for just over nine months. He states that he is a twenty-one year old Bahamian citizen, and is the father of one child. He was employed prior to his incarceration as an electrician, and wishes to be released on bail so that he can assist his family.

2 In response, the Respondent notes that the evidence in the matter is cogent, as the Applicant has been identified as the person who fired a number of shots which resulted in the death of the victim. The Respondent also asserts that the Applicant has previous convictions for Threats of Death and Possession of Dangerous Drugs, and that he has been convicted on two occasions of a total of eleven counts of Violation of Bail Conditions. They also note that at the time the Applicant was charged with the present offence, he was on bail for other matters, although they accept that those matters have now been concluded. Counsel for the Applicant therefore objects to the grant of bail based on serious nature of the offence, the cogency of the evidence, the likelihood of reoffending, as well as the concern that the Applicant will not abide by any conditions imposed by the court.

LAW AND ANALYSIS

3 The tensions surrounding an application for bail have been considered in many cases. In Richard Hepburn and The Attorney General SCCr. App. No 276 of 2014, Justice of Appeal Allen opined that:

“5. Bail is increasingly becoming the most vexing, controversial and complex issue confronting free societies in every part of the world. It highlights the tension between two important but competing interests: the need of the society to be protected from persons alleged to have committed crime; and the fundamental constitutional canons, which secure freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention and serve as the bulwark against punishment before conviction.”

6. Indeed, the recognition of the tension between these competing interests is reflected in the following passage from the Privy Council's decision in Humam The State [2006] LRC 370. At page 374 of the judgment Lord Bingham said inter alia:

“…the courts are routinely called upon to consider whether an unconvicted suspect or defendant shall be released on bail, subject to conditions, pending his trial. Such decisions very often raise questions of importance both to the individual suspect or defendant and to the community as whole. The interests of the individual is, of course, to remain at liberty unless or until he is convicted of crime sufficiently serious to deprive him of his liberty”. Any loss of liberty before that time, particularly if he is acquitted or never tried, will prejudice him and, in many cases, his livelihood and his family. But the community has countervailing interests, in seeking to ensure that the course of justice is not thwarted by the flight of the suspect or defendant or perverted by his interference with witnesses or evidence and that he does not take advantage of the inevitable delay before trial to commit further offences…”

4 At paragraph 11 she further noted that

“The general right to bail clearly requires judges on such an application, to conduct realistic assessment of the right of the accused to remain at liberty and the public's interests as indicated by the grounds prescribed in Part A for denying bail. Ineluctably, in some circumstances, the presumption of innocence and the right of an accused to remain at liberty, must give way to accommodate that interest.”

5 The presumption of innocence is enshrined in Article 20(2)(a) of the Constitution of The Bahamas which states:

“ Every person who is charged with a criminal offence - (a) shall be Presumed to be innocent until he is proved or has pleaded guilty”.

6 Furthermore, Article 19(l)provides as follows:

“ 19. (1) No person shall be deprived of his personal liberty save as may be authorised by law in any of the following cases-

(a) in execution of the sentence or order of a court, whether established for The Bahamas or some other country, in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been convicted or in consequence of his unfitness to plead to a criminal charge or in execution of the order of a court on the grounds of his contempt of that court or of another court or tribunal;

(b) in execution of the order of a court made in order to secure the fulfilment of any obligation imposed upon him by law;

(c) for the purpose of bringing him before a court in execution of the order of a court;

(d) upon reasonable suspicion of his having committed, or of being about to commit, a criminal offence;

(e) in the case of a person who has not attained the age of eighteen years, for the purpose of his education or welfare;

(f) for the purpose of preventing the spread of an infectious or contagious disease or in the case of a person who is, or is reasonably suspected to be, of unsound mind, addicted to drugs or alcohol, or a vagrant, for the purpose of his care or treatment or the protection of the community;

(g) for the purpose of preventing the unlawful entry of that person into The Bahamas or for the purpose of effecting the expulsion, extradition or other lawful removal from The Bahamas of that person or the taking of proceedings relating thereto; and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, a law may, for the purposes of this subparagraph, provide that a person who is not a citizen of The Bahamas may be deprived of his liberty to such extent as may be necessary in the execution of a lawful order requiring that person to remain within a specified area within The Bahamas or prohibiting him from being within such an area.

(2)…

(3) Any person...