As those who follow the news in the Cayman Islands will know, this newspaper and RCIPS Commissioner David Baines have not always seen eye-to-eye; far from it, in fact. However, we have always let Mr. Baines have his say and we will continue to do so in the future, responding vigorously to his statements if we feel the need.
Our concern in this writing is that it appears the commissioner of police does not have the same right to freedom of expression as others in the country.
We ask readers to recall the trial of Devon Anglin for the murder of four-year–old Jeremiah Barnes, which ended in a not guilty verdict last year.
Following the trial, Mr. Baines made statements that it was “a desperate day for justice” in the Cayman Islands.
This statement by the commissioner came in for heavy criticism from the Cayman Islands’ legal community.
No less an authority than legendary QC Ramon Alberga wrote a lengthy letter to this publication essentially stating that the commissioner was bang out of order. Others opined that, had Mr. Baines criticised a decision of the English judiciary in such a way, he would have been handed his walking papers.
On Thursday last week, a guilty verdict was reached in the murder trial of Raziel Jeffers. Shortly after the verdict, members of Jeffers’ family made statements about how Grand Court Justice Charles Quin reached the wrong decision based on the facts presented.
Now wait just a minute. We believe Jeffers’ family should have the right to make such statements.
However, if we believe that, shouldn’t we also believe that Mr. Baines has the same right to disagree with a court ruling?
The local court system simply cannot have a double standard in this regard.
Either the commissioner of police should be given the same speech rights as everyone else or no one should have the right to criticise a court’s decision.
Let’s have the same rules for everyone.
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