Citing “reckless disregard for whether or not statements in his paper were libelous, Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia Pratt has brought an action against Ivan Johnson and The Punch Publications Ltd, seeking damages for defamation.
In addition to ordinary damages, Mrs. Pratt, who is being represented in the matter by Graham Thompson and Co., is seeking exemplary damages.
Exemplary damages are awarded in order to punish a defendant in cases where malice or fraud was used.
Mrs. Pratt is seeking the punitive damages on the basis that The Punch “published the statements in a sensational manner, with the knowledge that they were libelous, and/or with reckless disregard to whether they were libelous or not.”
Mrs. Pratt’s lawyers claim that on at least four separate occasions The Punch has made “false and malicious” allegations “of a defamatory nature” calculated to “disparage her in her office as Deputy Prime Minister” and other offices she held.
Among the disputed statements that appeared in The Punch are references to the death of Jackie Moxey, in which The Punch alleged that Mrs. Pratt, as Minister of National Security, brought about the early release of the person eventually charged with murdering Ms. Moxey.
The early release was effected in February, 2002, prior to Mrs. Pratt taking office in May of the same year, her lawyers pointed out.
Another set of allegations referred to in the press release suggested that Mrs. Pratt’s brother was hanged for the crime of murder, a suggestion the lawyers reject.
“This allegation is completely false. No brother of Mrs. Pratt has ever suffered death for any crime,” said the lawyers.
The Bahama Journal
