| Forum approves tough crime bills | | Print | |
| Thursday, 11 November 2010 09:26 | |||
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The Constitution which has been suspended since August guarantees the right to criminal trials by jury in the Supreme Court, and no one has been denied that right since August. Currently, criminal defendants have the right to request a trial by a judge alone. An ongoing constitutional review and reform process so far proposes removing the absolute right to jury trials, which has been done in the U.K. The jury trial bill approved will allow not only a defendant but a prosecutor or judge to request a trial without a jury. The judge would make the decision, but that ruling could be appealed to the three-judge Court of Appeal. The judge who made the ruling then would not be the judge who tried the case. The forum also approved bills that would create mandatory prison sentences for crimes involving guns, all of which must be heard in the Supreme Court. Using a gun to commit a crime will carry a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years and a maximum of life in prison. Also approved was a bill to allow police to detain people charged with firearms crimes without bail for up to 28 days with the approval of a Supreme Court judge. Only 209 civilians are legally allowed to have guns in the Turks and Caicos Islands so far in 2010, interim government CEO Mark Capes told the forum in answer to an inquiry by forum member Guilaine Brutus. The ages of those licensed range from 31 to 63 and include 12 women. Gun license permits must be renewed annually, and licenses from other countries are not accepted. To get a license, a person must be 18 years old, have a clean criminal record, have a medical report on their physical and mental fitness, and have two testimonials from two justices of the peace. They must pass a firearms safety and handling test and receive a recommendation from the police divisional command team, which investigates each the applicant. License gun owners also must have a secure place to keep the firearm and the approval of their spouse, if married.
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A bill to provide the framework for allowing trials without juries in criminal cases in the Supreme Court narrowly gained approval from the Consultative Forum, while bills creating tougher mandatory prison sentences received overwhelming support.Related Articles
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