Supreme Court Judge Slams State and Police After Finding Man Was Maliciously Prosecuted for Murder

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – A supreme court judge slammed the state and the police after finding that a man was maliciously prosecuted for murder, although an autopsy showed the alleged victim died from sudden cardiac death.

Justice Cheryl Bazard, KC ruled that Hosnell Samuel was entitled to damages and directed the supreme court registrar to determine how much money he should be awarded.

Bazard found that police had grounds to arrest Samuel and probable cause to charge him for the January 2017 death of Leonardo Joseph.

Prosecutors had alleged that Samuel had beaten Joseph to death by hitting him in the head with a hammer.

Samuel allegedly told people Joseph had hit him with a hammer, and witnesses allegedly saw him holding one during a confrontation between the pair.

But an autopsy conducted on January 11, 2017, the day after Samuel was charged, showed that Joseph’s facial injuries did not cause his death.

Justice Bazard said that once prosecutors became aware of the cause of death, the basis for his prosecution disappeared.

Bazard said that continuing the case while knowing Samuel could not be linked to Joseph’s death made the prosecution malicious.

Samuel was not released on bail until December 2018 and the case was formally dropped with the presentation of a Nolle Prosequi on March 15, 2023.