The mandatory minimum sentence for drug possession with intent to supply is being challenged in the courts, The Nassau Guardian can reveal.
Lawyers for Andrew Davis, 35, who was jailed for four years for having six ounces of marijuana, which he reportedly planned to smoke with friends, are challenging the sentence on the grounds that it was unduly harsh.
The Free National Movement (FNM) government in October reintroduced mandatory minimum sentences as part of its anti-crime legislation.
Prior to the change in the law, persons convicted of trafficking narcotics faced a maximum sentence of five years and they were eligible for reductions in sentencing for good behavior. Now, Parliament has fixed a sentencing range of four to seven years for the offense and removed the possibility of early release from prison.
Defense attorney Murrio Ducille commented on Parliament’s removal of the magistrates’ discretion in sentencing before Davis was sentenced.
Ducille noted that magistrates needed a minimum of five years of legal experience to be considered for the position, while politicians only needed to be popular.
However, Deputy Chief Magistrate Carolita Bethell said she was obliged to follow the legislation until it was declared unconstitutional.
Queen’s Counsel Henry Bostwick, a former parliamentarian, said recently that the legislation had turned magistrates into robots armed with swords and no compassion.
Davis is scheduled to appear before the Court of Appeal in January in an attempt to be released on bail pending an appeal of his sentence.
The FNM made an about-turn on its position on mandatory sentencing. In 2000, the government
repealed mandatory minimums with the Abolition of Mandatory Minimum Sentences Act.
In December 2000, Ingraham said, “We resisted for a very long time the desire of some to change what we have done. But we have now come to the irreversible decision that we made a mistake, a big mistake and we removed all mandatory minimum sentences.”
In 1994, the FNM government imposed a mandatory two-year prison sentence for drugs and firearms offences as part of a package of laws to address crime.
Explaining the change, Ingraham told the House of Assembly in October, “In admitting that we made a mistake, I took account of my own personal views, and I don’t like minimum mandatory sentences.
“I don’t like saying to a magistrate, ‘you must impose four years for gun possession irrespective of the circumstances’. I don’t like it. I do what is absolutely essential.”
He added, “In 2001, when we passed the law dealing with removing minimum sentences, we had the greatest success in the history of The Bahamas in a reduction in the number of murders. In the year 2000, we had 74 murders in The Bahamas and the next year we had 43.”
By: ARTESIA DAVIS
Nassau Guardian Senior Reporter
