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THE Bail Act already provides for the denial of bail to anyone determined to be a danger to society, the Law Association said in a release on Monday as it agreed that bail should be denied to anyone charged with any serious offence or who was likely to re-offend.
However, the association said the call for automatic bail denial to someone charged with a specific offence, whether rape or kidnapping, “comes at the expense of denying long-cherished constitutional rights, such as the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty and effectively puts the decision whether someone should be deprived of his liberty for long periods of time solely in the hands of the police.”
“This would be a disproportionate response and would constitute a jail sentence without a trial in an already broken criminal justice system,” it added.
There have been widespread calls for reform to specific crime legislation, including amendments to the Bail Act to include kidnapping and sexual offences as non-bailable offences as well as a resumption of the death penalty, following the kidnapping and murder of Ashanti Riley and Andrea Bharatt.
In its three-page release, the association said over the past years, it has been advocating for adequate resources and the implementation of proper legislation to improve the criminal justice system.
Also admitting it could not support the present Evidence (Amendment) Bill, 2020, the association said the resumptions of hanging, while it might serve to assuage the collective need for revenge, was not a deterrent to crime.
“It serves no useful purpose to advocate for same if the police are unable to find the perpetrators of the many unsolved murders in the first place and, if when charged, the accused become lost (in) the criminal justice system for years,” it added.
DEFENCE ATTORNEYS IMPORTANT
In its release, it also defended criminal defence attorneys who have also been attacked.
“As the Law Association has been at pains to point out on previous occasions when lawyers have come under attack from members of government and the police force, the constitutional right to a fair trial which is the bedrock of any system of justice in a democratic society, cannot be guaranteed without lawyers who are willing to represent persons charged with criminal offences.
“To advocate a system of justice with undefended criminal defendants is to encourage a totalitarian state,” it said.
It also defended magistrates who apply the law and grant bail where the police failed to establish an accused was a danger to society.
“Putting magistrates under the glare of public ridicule threatens the independence of the judiciary and undermines public confidence in the administration of justice,” it said.
It has also called for proper funding for the police, the upgrade of the Forensic Science Centre, timely processing of DNA and ballistic data and an increased efficiency in the judicial system with trained judicial officers and support staff.
To this end, it called for a summit of stakeholders, comprising of the Chief Justice, the Attorney General, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the police, to engage each other on a regular basis to arrive at workable solutions to problems plaguing the criminal justice system.
“We recognise that there is no one solution to the endemic problem of gender-based violence, rooted as it is in deeply entrenched societal values and power structures which see men exercising violence as a tool of power and control over women and their bodies.
“Gender inequality and sexist attitudes are at the heart of this pervasive victimisation of women and girls.”
It has also advocated for changes in how men and women are socialised, reform in policing and the justice system, safer public transportation and the moving away from corporal punishment.
“We recognise as well that until the root causes of criminality among the dispossessed and disempowered communities amongst us are addressed, the recurring cycle of ever-increasing horrendous and monstrous murders will not be easily quelled.
“Only when all key stakeholders meaningfully work together can TT see a marked reduction in the occurrence of violent crimes and a criminal justice system that functions efficiently.”
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