In fact, she said, the courts in The Bahamas are fully prepared to carry out the laws as they are on the books.
“The courts in The Bahamas are fully prepared to see the laws of our country fully brought to bear in punishment of offenders. And I think the public is pleased to see the determination of our courts to see punishment meted out swiftly,” said Mrs Maynard-Gibson yesterday at a press conference at the Office of the Attorney General.
Alutus Newbold of Orange Creek, Cat Island was convicted last week of burglary, attempted rape and causing harm.
Justice Jon Isaacs ordered that Newbold be given eight strokes of the Rod – four on entering prison and four immediately prior to his departure.
Justice Isaacs also sentenced Newbold to 16 years for burglary, six years for attempted rape and two years for causing harm, which are to run concurrently.
The cat-o’-nine-tails is a multi-tailed whipping device that originated as an implement for severe physical punishment in the British Royal Navy.
It leaves marks like the scratches of a cat.
According to Mrs Maynard-Gibson, this severe punishment is reserved for the most “egregious of cases.”
The Bahamas reinstated the use of the cat-o’-nine-tails in 1991. Other countries in the Caribbean also use the punishment for heinous crimes.
According to reports, Antigua and Barbuda recalled ‘the cat’ on the bare back in 1990, Barbados in 1993, Trinidad in 1993 and Jamaica in 1994, but it was banned again by the Jamaican Court of Appeal in 1998.
When asked about possible backlash from human rights groups for using the cat on some prisoners, Mrs Maynard-Gibson said she was not prepared to back down, as she was certain that many other Bahamians would agree with her.
“I am equally as confident that there will be people who are prepared to support the fact that we are prepared to severely punish anybody who deserves it,” she said. “Our courts are sending a strong message and the police and the Office of the Attorney General fully support them in that endeavour.”
Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Cheryl Grant-Bethel explained that the lashing is not done publicly and takes place behind prison gates.
The procedure, she said, is not expected to change.
However, Mrs Grant-Bethel said, it was hard to determine when the lashes would be issued, as, by law, officials have to wait 28 days to allow the individual the opportunity to file an appeal against the sentence.
A 2003 Amnesty International report noted that in October 2002, a man sued the government on the grounds that he had been whipped before his conviction for rape was overturned on appeal.
In recent years, government and law enforcement officials have both called for the cat to be used more widely in The Bahamas.
By: IANTHIA SMITH, The Nassau Guardian
