It appears that Minister Tommy Turnquest was in synch with a broad spectrum of the Bahamian public when he criticized judges for their leniency in dealing with violent criminals.
Nearly everyone who has commented, except PLP bigwigs, have expressed their support of Mr Turnquest’s remarks on the granting of bail to repeat offenders.
Of course, the PLP brass would criticize Mr Turnquest’s comments but then, they would criticize anything the Minister said. If Turnquest had come out in support of judges, PLP bosses would have castigated him for that. The PLP leaders are hypocrites, but many of their party members agree with Mr Turnquest’s comments.
The Democratic National Alliance have also criticized the minister over the remarks but again, they are playing politics. Besides, their leader is a lawyer and lawmaker who has done nothing to fix the corrupt and dysfunctional legal system during the many years he has been practicing law.
Former Christian Council president Bishop Simeon Hall said, while he has the utmost respect for the judiciary, he feels Mr Turnquest was “dead on” when he said some of the judges are too lenient.
Bishop Hall recognizes that the law says a person is innocent until proven guilty but asks, “how can a man be innocent after he has already been charged with other crimes and is out on bail?”
The Bishop echoed the sentiments of many members of the Bahamian public when he said that Minister Turnquest, “does not deserve to be blamed”.
“To say Tommy Turnquest is the cause of crime is like saying a pastor is the cause of the sin of his members,” Bishop Hall said.
The Bahamian public is just as responsible, maybe more so, for allowing crime to flourish and criminals to go unpuninished, all these years.
It was back in 2003, when the founders of BahamasB2B.com sounded the alarm, warning the nation that the failure to prosecute crimes against them, was a harbinger of the eventual erosion of Bahamian society.
That prophecy has now proven to be true.
Corrupt lawyers and police, crooked court employees and politicians have only helped to facilitate the breakdown of the Bahamian legal system.
Despite a verbal lashing from Chief Justice Michael Barnett, on Monday, Mr Turnquest defended his criticism of the judiciary, saying he felt his actions were “right” as an elected representative of the Bahamian people.
“I was elected by the Bahamian people to serve and I intend to serve. The one thing I don’t like is the ‘namby-pamby, wishy-washy’ politicians. You either stand for something or you don’t,” said Turnquest.
When asked if he wanted to respond to Sir Michael’s comments, Mr Turnquest said, “I’ve said what I had to say.”
Mr Turnquest also said he felt that bail trends have contributed “greatly” to the country’s escalating crime problem.
He believes the police and the public agree with him. Indeed, public support for Mr Turnquest has been strong.
Newspapers and websites have received many letters of support for Mr Turnquest.
The FNM government has promised to introduce three bills to Parliament on October 5, including a new Bail Act and bills to update the Criminal Procedure Code and the Penal Code.
The new Bail Act would restrict the circumstances under which persons accused of committing serious crimes could get bail.
