It was the appeal of Davis and Forrester Bowe, another condemned man, that the Privy Council ruled on in March, determining that the mandatory death sentence in The Bahamas was unconstitutional.
The Privy Council also quashed their death sentences.
As a result of that historic ruling, Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson has announced that re-sentencing hearings will be held for all death row inmates.
Mr. McPhee is seeking a declaration from the court that Article 20(1) of the Bahamas Constitution which affords the applicant, Trono Davis, the right to a re-sentencing hearing within a reasonable time by an independent tribunal established by law has been infringed.
He is also seeking a declaration pursuant to the ruling of the Privy Council that the sentence of death imposed on the applicant on December 13, 1999 by Justice Joseph Alfred has been quashed and that applicant is no longer under a lawful sentence of the court.
Additionally, Mr. McPhee wants a declaration that the applicant is being held contrary to Article 19(1) of the constitution, which affords the applicant the right to his personal liberty except under sentence or court order.
He is also seeking a declaration that the applicantﾒs continued confinement on death row since the Privy Council ruling in March is cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment and violates his constitutional rights under Article 17(1).
Mr. McPhee wants a declaration that the applicant ought to be immediately released.
The attorney also laid out the grounds of the application stating that the trial judge, Justice Joseph Alfred, is no longer a justice on the Supreme Court Bench.
He said the applicant despite being the co-appellant in the Privy Council appeal has not been notified on re-sentencing, and the delay is presumptively prejudicial.
Other grounds are that no reasonable explanation has been given and Davisﾒ personal liberty has been “severely prejudiced” by reason of his unlawful detention since March 2006.
Mr. McPhee also said in the court document that sentencing practice in common law jurisdictions, unless otherwise provided for by statute law, requires that judgment and sentence be pronounced in open court by the trial judge.
As indicated, Davis has been on death row since December 13, 1999. An early Privy Council ruling said it would be cruel and inhumane to execute anyone who has been under the sentence of death for more than five years, so it appears unlikely that he would be executed in any event.
Recently, Mr. McPhee sought the release of murder convicts, Brian Schroeter, Jeronimo Bowleg, Omar Hall and David Smith. He was also seeking their release on the grounds that the trial judges were no longer on the bench.
But Justice Jon Isaacs denied the habeas corpus applications telling Mr. McPhee, “Your basic position that (your clients) are being held under an illegal sentence is not so.”
During that proceeding, the attorney had said, “It is my position that these men are not under a sentence of the court. They have been convicted, but their sentences have been quashed.”
But in delivering his ruling in that matter, Justice Isaacs said, “There is no basis for granting the relief that you seek.”
The judge also said that he had heard or seen nothing that demonstrated that the death sentence on each of Mr. McPheeﾒs clients was unlawful.
No hearing date into the Davis matter had been set by the court.
By: Candia Dames, The Bahama Journal
