A deal is a deal

Jul 01, 2021 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Kaieteur News – In 1990, there was an insurrection in Trinidad and Tobago which led to the invasion of the House of Representatives and the holding hostage of its members. During the mediation which followed, an amnesty was granted to the insurrectionists by the then acting President.
Under the terms of the amnesty, the insurrectionists were required to ensure the safety of those being held captive. The insurrectionists took the necessary steps to ensure compliance with this condition.
The insurrectionists subsequently surrendered and were taken into custody. A battery of charges was instituted against them including treason, murder, assault and involvement in acts of insurrection.
The insurrectionists challenged the charges on the grounds that they were the beneficiaries of a valid pardon and as such, their detention was illegal by virtue of the said pardon, and that the charges were in violation of their constitutional right to liberty and security of the person.
The matters ended up in front of the High Court, the Court of Appeal and subsequently the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Their Lordships subsequently granted to the accused persons leave to issue a writ of habeas corpus on the basis that, on the face of things, they had established a case for a valid pardon which would render their detention unlawful.
As such, the Privy Council granted leave so that the accused persons could seek a determination from the local courts as to the lawfulness of the pardon. In those subsequent proceedings, it was ordered that the accused persons be freed. A declaration was also granted that their constitutional rights had been violated and in addition, that damages for this contravention be assessed by a judge and paid by the State.
As expected, that matter also ended up being appealed before the Privy Council. In their decision, the Lordships ruled that “It could well be an abuse of process to seek to prosecute those who have relied on an offer or promise of a pardon and complied with the conditions subject to which that offer or promise was made.”
The Court held that the pardon was valid but that it was NOT unlawful for the accused persons to be detained and prosecuted. However, those charged could have, during the case, raised the issue of the abuse of process as a bar to the proceedings. However, the Court also held that after the habeas corpus was made, it would have been an abuse of process to once more seek to prosecute the accused persons of activities relating to the insurrection.
This judgment took place almost 25 years prior to the verdict against Bill Cosby which placed him behind bars. Yesterday, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ruled that Cosby should not have been charged since he had made a specific deal with the District Attorney that in return for his deposition, he would not face prosecution. A deposition is a sworn out-of-court testimony which is often used in civil proceedings.
Cosby waved his right to not incriminate himself and gave a deposition to the effect, that he had done certain things. He did this based on the promise that he would not be prosecuted. It is being suggested that, at the time, the District Attorney was of the view that he did not have sufficient grounds for a successful criminal prosecution of Cosby, but that the depositions could be useful in a civil action.
However, later Cosby was charged criminally even though he had been immunised from prosecution by the deal with the District Attorney. It was on this ground that the majority of the Justices yesterday decided in favour of the actor and former TV star.
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Court freed Cosby, and stopped him from ever being prosecuted for the charges which had destroyed his reputation and sent him to jail for more than two years. The decision is likely to displease many persons but in law, a deal is a deal.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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A deal is a deal

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