Nassau, Bahamas - (Bottom Photo) Attorney General Sen. Allyson Maynard Gibson (center) addresses the media at the AG's office on
29th October 2013
after the Supreme Court handed down the death penalty to Kofhe
Goodman for the murder of Marco Archer. To her left is Vernette Graham
Allen, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and to the left of the
AG is the Asst. Director of Public Prosecutions, Garvin Gaskin.
(Top Photo) Director of Public Prosecutions, Vernette Graham Allen addresses the media.
(Graph Image) AG
Gibson displays a graph to the press, illustrating the decline in the
number of days to a Voluntary Bill of Indictment (VBI). A VBI is
presented to the court to bypass a Preliminary Inquiry so that capital
cases can be fast tracked to the Supreme Court. She attributes this
significant decline in days and reduction in delays to the effectiveness
of the Swift Justice Initiative (SJI). She further said that the goal
is to reduce the number of days to 30.
More info on the case
STATEMENT BY
SEN. THE HON. ALLYSON MAYNARD GIBSON
ATTORNEY-GENERAL AND MINISTER OF LEGAL AFFAIRS
29 October 2013
Today Justice was served in The Bahamas. The death penalty was handed down in the matter of Kofe Goodman, the man convicted of murdering young Marco Archer.
I quote from the Decision on Sentencing handed down by Justice Bernard Turner, “This case is a clear and compelling case for the ultimate sentence of death, to satisfy the requirements of due punishment for the murder of this child and to protect this society from any further predatory conduct by this convict at any time in the future.”
This government is committed to carrying out the most aggressive anti-crime programme that this country has ever seen.
Swift Justice is dramatically reducing the time it takes to bring criminal matters to court. All of our resources are deployed. All stops are out.
The execution of justice is a top priority for this government.
A few weeks ago the death penalty was handed down in the matter of Anthony Clarke.
Today the death penalty was handed down in the Kofe Goodman matter.
We are seeking the death penalty in the matter of Stephen "Die" Stubbs.
We intend to fight any delays or any abuses of the process with all the resources of our office.
I ask the nation to support in your prayers the hardworking Judges, police and prosecutorial team in OAG, led by the DPP, the Deputy Directors and our Consultants.
