By EARYEL BOWLEG
Tribune Staff Reporter
ebowleg@tribunemedia.net
A man who admitted causing the death of a three-month-old infant in his care was ordered into custody yesterday after the Court of Appeal ruled the trial judge had no legal authority to suspend his two-year prison sentence.
The appellate court overturned Kirkwood Elliot Thompson’s suspended sentence but rejected the Director of Public Prosecutions’ attempt to secure a longer prison term, finding the Crown failed to show the two-year sentence for manslaughter by negligence was unduly lenient.
Thompson was ordered to begin serving the two-year sentence immediately.
The ruling sharply rebuffed the prosecution’s attempt to press for a harsher sentence based on claims the infant’s fatal injuries reflected a deliberate act. The court found no evidence established how the child suffered the injuries.
Justice of Appeal Peter Jamadar Kokaram, delivering the unanimous ruling, said the Crown could not treat Thompson’s conviction as a more sinister act when no such case was proved or charged. Justices Jon Isaacs Turner and Milton Evans Hilton agreed.
On January 16, 2023, the infant was in Thompson’s care after her mother, Lakeisha Parks, placed her in a car seat. Thompson was driving and expected to make several school drop-offs. Later that day, the child was pronounced dead on arrival at Accident and Emergency. Medical evidence showed she suffered blunt force trauma to the head, broken ribs and internal bleeding.
Thompson was charged with manslaughter by negligence, carrying a maximum five-year sentence. In September 2023, the Crown indicated it intended to amend the charge to manslaughter based on the pathologist’s report if Thompson went to trial. Thompson instead pleaded guilty to manslaughter by negligence.
He was convicted and sentenced on June 17, 2025, to two years in prison, suspended for two years. The trial judge also ordered three years of good behaviour, parenting classes, counseling with Dr David Allen and a $5,000 fine for breaching a court order.
The breach involved a bail condition requiring Thompson to stay away from the child’s mother pending sentencing. A probation report later revealed Ms Parks remained in a relationship with Thompson, was expecting his child and sought leniency on his behalf. The child’s biological father, identified as Mr Milfort, pressed for the maximum sentence.
The DPP appealed, arguing the trial judge lacked jurisdiction to suspend the sentence and that two years was too lenient given the circumstances. Thompson accepted Bahamian courts cannot suspend prison sentences under the Penal Code.
The Court of Appeal agreed, finding the trial judge wrongly relied on an Eastern Caribbean case when Bahamian decisions established no such sentencing power exists locally. Bahamian law permits postponing sentences or imposing alternatives, but not imposing imprisonment and then suspending it.
This error meant Thompson had to serve a custodial sentence, but the court rejected the DPP’s argument to increase it.
The prosecution initially sought four years, citing aggravating factors including the infant’s death, Thompson’s conflicting accounts, efforts to avoid a manslaughter charge, alleged drug use, bail breaches and a claimed lack of remorse. During the appeal, the DPP conceded four years was unavailable after discounting for Thompson’s guilty plea. The Crown then argued for three years and four months.
The Court of Appeal found that argument unsustainable. Although the pathologist established the injuries, the court said it did not establish how they were sustained. The trial judge lacked a clear account, and the DPP could not explain how the child died in Thompson’s care.
Thompson’s explanation was that the injuries resulted from his driving. His conflicting accounts could have formed part of a manslaughter prosecution had the Crown proceeded with that charge at trial. Instead, the prosecution permitted Thompson to plead guilty to manslaughter by negligence.
The prosecution could not then argue Thompson’s conduct amounted to a more sinister act unsupported by established facts or his charge. The court rejected treating his guilty plea as an aggravating factor for avoiding trial, noting the prosecution deliberately pursued manslaughter by negligence. The Crown could also not argue Thompson lied or used drugs unless clearly established as facts.
Reviewing the sentence, the court recognised the gravity of the defenceless infant’s death, Thompson’s conflicting accounts and the father’s grief. These factors were balanced against Thompson’s guilty plea, a clean criminal record, the probation report, recorded remorse and the mother’s leniency request.
The court observed the case exposed the absence of legislation allowing judges to impose suspended sentences or use restorative justice mechanisms, particularly where family relationships continue.
The DPP’s appeal was allowed in part. Thompson’s suspended sentence was quashed, his two-year term upheld and he was ordered into custody.
Commenting has been disabled for this item.