The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

FNM SENATOR Darren Henfield said a constitutional amendment should be pursued to deny bail to people accused of multiple serious crimes.

He called the county’s court system “flawed” as he recalled the death of the country’s latest murder victim, Tennison Chisholm, who was out on bail for attempted murder when he was shot dead after leaving the gym Monday night.

People on bail for murder comprise a significant portion of the number of people killed each year.

Mr Henfield said he knows defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty, but change is needed because of violence.

“If it takes a constitutional amendment, which in that area is very dangerous, if it takes some kind of other amendment to the legislation like the Bail Act or anything, something has to be done.”

“I don’t care that you’ve been charged before a court five or six times for murder or attempted murder and you still come back before the court and you’re granted bail.”

“How in the world, which reality are we living in?”

Mr Henfield said it is fine to grant bail to people charged with one murder.

“That’s fine,” he said. “You get your bail because we don’t have a system that gon’ get you to court in a timely fashion.”

“How the hell you gon‘ get bail if you back before the court for three murders on separate occasions and The Bahamas is going to grant you bail knowing that it’s unlikely that you get someone before a court in a timely fashion, and so there has to be some kind of amendment, something in the law to address this.”

National Security Minister Wayne Munroe had previously said there is no way to restrict bail grants through ordinary legislation because such efforts repeatedly fail in courts throughout the region.

He said the Davis administration is seeking to hire more judges to advance cases to trial faster.