The Tribune

By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

KOFHE Goodman, the accused man slated to stand trial for the murder of Marco Archer, is asking the presiding judge in his case to have the trial stayed indefinitely as he fears he will not receive a fair trial because of the publicity the case has attracted.

Goodman, through his attorney Geoffrey Farquharson, argued this application yesterday for nearly two hours claiming that the media, over the 18-months that the matter has surfaced before the court, continued to push the case and in some instances, inaccurately reported on things it should not have.

Mr Farquharson further sighted the recent remarks by National Security Minister Dr Bernard Nottage at a church service where he promised reporters that Marco’s Law, a sex offenders registry, will be enacted upon completion of the murder trial.
The attorney claimed this was an implication that not only was there sexual contact between the two, contrary to the evidence, but that Goodman would be convicted.
However, Crown prosecutor Neil Braithwaite countered that such thinking was scandalous, as was their entire affidavit presented by the defence, because they were drawing conclusions with facts and basis to support them.
Goodman, 37, of Yorkshire Drive, faces a charge of murder which claims that between Friday, September 23, 2011 and Wednesday, September 28, 2011, Goodman intentionally caused the death of the 11-year-old boy of Brougham Street.
Goodman denies the murder charge.
Marco, a sixth grade student of Columbus Primary School, had gone to a nearby store to buy sweets with the change from the few items he had first picked up for his mother from the store between 4pm and 6pm on September 23.
His body was discovered on September 28 in bushes behind an apartment in Cable Beach five days after he disappeared.

Goodman was charged in connection with the murder two months later, on November 24.
Goodman was told at his Supreme Court arraignment last year that he would stand trial on April 8, 2013. However, there is an ongoing murder trial before Justice Bernard Turner.
Furthermore, Goodman is requesting that the matter be stayed indefinitely due to alleged high publicity of the case in the media that he believes will prejudice the jury who are expected in court today, but will be asked to return at a later date within the next few days.
In yesterday’s proceedings, Mr Braithwaite responded to the affidavit that was filed that morning.
He called the affidavit scandalous and said it should be struck out because there was no basis to support the claims or conclusions drawn from stories posted on Bahama Press, The Punch, The Nassau Guardian, The Tribune or other media.
He also claimed that the affidavit was making claims against the court for not stepping in to deal with the alleged publicity of the case and reporting of it.
Mr Farquharson responded that the prosecutor had clearly not had sufficient time to read through the document, else he would not have come to that conclusion.
Mr Farquharson then went on to show copied clippings of stories covering the case from the media outlets.
He said The Punch wrote an article alleging that Goodman was being protected from prosecution in the case due to his connection to a reportedly gay senior officer in the Royal Bahamas Police Force. He claimed the article itself was erroneous and vicious.
He also referred to Bahama Press posting about his arraignment while referring to sexual cases with which he had been charged that had no bearings on the murder arraignment.
He further referred to reports in The Nassau Guardian and The Tribune quoting the national security minister’s assurances that Marco’s Law would be enacted.
Mr Farquharson noted that the proposed law referred to sexual offenders and that no sexual charge had been brought against his client.
Mr Farquharson’s submissions went on for some time, up to 4:45pm before the matter was adjourned to 10am tomorrow for continuation.
Mr Farquharson requested three hours to complete his submissions while Mr Braithwaite said he would only need one to respond to the submissions.