We (the Bahama Journal) are not lawyers. And we have no desire to act as if we were lawyers.
That notwithstanding, we know right from wrong.
We have a pretty good understanding of how our legal system operates and should operate. That is why ﾖlike other right-thinking Bahamians- we question how it comes to be that Samuel Knowles ﾖa citizen of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas could be spirited out of The Bahamas as he was ﾖeven as questions were being mooted concerning a forthcoming application for a writ of habeas corpus.
Today we note for the record that we agree with all those Bahamians who do believe that a wrong was done in the matter involving the recent clandestine extradition of Samuel Knowles, a citizen of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
But truth is that from time to time we are ably advised by some of this nationﾒs most able constitutional lawyers. That is how it now arises that we are today obliged to wonder concerning the circumstances surrounding the so-called extradition of Samuel Knowles.
Based on opinions voiced by some of our most trusted informants, we are being led to an opinion that there is some thing that is today most untoward in the way that this thing concerning the extradition of Samuel Knowles was done.
Many bahamians do not like it one bit.
A part of their concern relates to what we understand was a last ditch effort on the part of Knowlesﾒ lawyers, that being to apply for a writ of habeas corpus.
This was known for quite a long time by all those people who had a need to know. Notwithstanding this desire, this resort to law was somehow never allowed.
As we understand the conceptual issue at hand, a writ of habeas corpus is a judicial mandate to a prison official ordering that an inmate be brought to the court so it can be determined whether or not that person is imprisoned lawfully and whether or not he should be released from custody.
A habeas corpus petition is a petition filed with a court by a person who objects to his own or another's detention or imprisonment. The petition must show that the court ordering the detention or imprisonment made a legal or factual error. Habeas corpus petitions are usually filed by persons serving prison sentences.
We have the text of a letter that was purportedly written by George W. Bush, President of the United States of America. The letter was sent to the Chairmen of the House and Senate Committees on Intelligence, the Judiciary, and Armed Services, the House Committees on International Relations and Ways and Means, and the Senate Committees on Foreign Relations and Finance.
The letter is dated May 31, 2002. In that communication, we find a claim that is germane to todayﾒs commentary on the clandestine ﾖand quite possibly illegal ﾖ extradition of Bahamian Samuel ﾑNinetyﾒ Knowles, a citizen of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
But for now, we revert to President Bushﾒs letter.
As we have discovered ﾖand much to our amazement- President Bush says that "pursuant to section 804(b) of the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Act, 21 U.S.C. 1901-1908, 8 U.S.C. 1182 (the "Kingpin Act"), that I have designated the following foreign persons for sanctions pursuant to the Kingpin Act, and that I am imposing sanctions upon them pursuant to that Act: Is Ismael Zambada Garcia; Eduardo Gonzalez Quirarte; Mario Ernesto Villanueva Madrid; Luis Fernando da Costa; Oded Tuito; Haji Ibrahim and Samuel Knowles.
Based on our understanding of how the law works and with specific reference to the concept of the separation of powers, we do not understand how the head of the executive power in the United States could or should be allowed to dictate to the Judiciary.
Interestingly, critics in the United States are joined by some of their colleagues in The Bahamas and the Caribbean who are today saying and suggesting that the king-pin designation prejudices the right of the accused to an impartial trial. As we recall, this is the position which Supreme Court Justice Hugh Small agreed in a case involving Samuel 'Ninety' Knowles.
Like the learned justice, too was not convinced that Mr. Knowles could or will get a fair trial. And for sure, Many Bahamians do not like the way he was apparently denied his other day in a court in The Bahamas.
The Bahama Journal
