The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune News Editor

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE latest US report on human rights in The Bahamas reveals that 74 police-involved shooting deaths are awaiting inquests at the Coroner’s Court.

The report, which has changed little in recent years, highlights poor prison conditions and weak enforcement of corruption laws while acknowledging positive elements of life in The Bahamas, including free and fair elections, protections against arbitrary arrests and detention, and the independence and impartiality of the judiciary.

The report says: “The Coroner’s Court determines whether security force killings are justifiable and pursues prosecutions; however, the director of public prosecutions had yet to appoint a lawyer to marshal the cases, which had gone untouched since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 74 police-involved shooting deaths were before the Corner’s Court.”

 The Coroner’s Court is known for having a significant backlog of police-involved killing cases.

 After this newspaper reported the long-standing issue in 2017, former Attorney General Carl Bethel said there were about 28 outstanding police-involved killing cases. He said he found the delays “distressing” and “unacceptable”.

 Eighteen inquests were subsequently held between January 2018 and June 2019, three resulting in unlawful killing rulings and one resulting in an open verdict finding. The other killings were deemed lawful.

 The COVID-19 pandemic again brought inquests to a halt and the inquiries have been slow to resume.

 The latest US human rights report also hits out at prison conditions.

 “BDCS inmates reported infrequent access to nutritious meals and long delays between daily meals. Authorities allowed family members to bring meals to prisoners, but limited food sales by independent vendors,” the report says. “Sanitation was a general problem, and cells were infested with rats, maggots, and insects.”

 “Inmates complained they were denied access to regular medical and psychological care. Prisoners consistently complained that prison authorities did not take their health concerns seriously. Sick male inmates and male inmates with disabilities had inadequate access to the medical centre. Correctional officers and civil society representatives accused prison management of contributing to COVID-19 outbreaks by failing to quarantine COVID-positive prisoners or provide prisoners with timely access to the vaccine.”

 The report also highlights problems involving corruption and campaign finance.

 “The law provides criminal penalties for corruption by officials, and the government generally implemented the law effectively,” it says. “On October 3, the government launched an e-procurement platform to serve as a clearinghouse for government contracts. There was limited enforcement of conflicts of interest related to government contracts, and the government had not enacted a public procurement bill passed in 2021. There were reports of government corruption during the year in which officials sometimes engaged in cronyism and accepted small-scale “bribes of convenience”.

“The campaign finance system was unregulated, with few safeguards against quid pro quo donations. The procurement process was susceptible to corruption because it contained no requirement to engage in open public tenders.”