The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

Nassau is currently under-siege by a violent group of gangs engaging in a reckless game of tit-for-tat, which has spilled over into communities that were once thought to be safe. Many families in New Providence have lost confidence in the judicial system and in the executive branch of government to keep them safe. The current uptick in gang related deaths has put to rest the narrative that the Minnis administration had broken the back of crime in 2020. I had argued in an opinion piece last year that the drastic drop in murders and other violent criminal offences was due to the state sanctioned restrictions and curfews issued by the competent authority in order to curtail the spread of COVID-19.

It had absolutely nothing to do with National Security Minister Marvin Dames’ crime fighting strategies. I have also argued before that Nassau’s shockingly high murder rate is related to vigilante justice. I believe families of murdered and rape victims are now taking matters into their own hands. The crime crisis in Nassau has been a boon for certain defense attorneys, who can earn upwards to $50,000 for a murder case in the Supreme Court. According to a recent Nassau Guardian article, as of June 30, murders were up 68 percent, compared to the first six months of 2020. Each murder count represents another lucrative job for Nassau’s over bloated legal fraternity, which brings us to another important point.

Nassauvians are now gearing up for another general election, and one of the most important legal matters, capital punishment, is not high on the agenda of either the Free National Movement or the Progressive Liberal Party. The state hasn’t executed a convicted murderer since 2000 - 21 years ago, during the second term of the Hubert Ingraham administration. My question to Nassauvians is this: What are the chances that a defense attorney, who is an MP, and whose law firm is representing the very criminal elements that are making life a living hell in Nassau, would push for the death penalty? Moreover, how can I, as a criminal defense attorney, sit in the Cabinet mapping out a strategy to uproot the very clients my law firm is vigorously seeking to exonerate before the courts? Bahamians are not stupid. We know who the criminals are. And we know who their hotshot attorneys are. They will be the very ones knocking on your door days prior to election looking for your vote.

Nassauvians had better wake up and smell the coffee. We are already reaching the point of no return like Jamaica and South Africa. While criminal defense attorneys, who want to sit in Parliament, are laughing all the way to the bank, grieving parents are burying their murdered children.

KEVIN EVANS

Freeport, Grand Bahama,

July 15, 2021.