Anthony Clarke (Appellant) v The King (Respondent) (Bahamas)

Permission to Appeal application lodged

Case summary
Permission to Appeal
Previous proceedings

Case summary

Case ID

JCPC/2026/0021

Jurisdiction

Bahamas

Parties

Appellant(s)

Anthony Clarke

Respondent(s)

The King

Issue

Was the admission of the appellant’s alleged confessions to murder contrary to ss 20 and 178 of the Evidence Act 1996 and the Judge’s Rules? Did the absence of legal advice breach the appellant’s right to a fair trial under Article 20 of the Constitution of the Bahamas? Did the trial judge err in failing to give a good character direction?

Facts

The appellant, Anthony Jerome Clarke, was convicted for murder by the Supreme Court of the Bahamas on 5 June 2013. The prosecution case was that the appellant had accepted $5,000 from a stranger to kill the victim Aleus Tilus (“the deceased”), who had been found dead from gunshot wounds at Nirvana Beach, New Providence, in the Bahamas on 16 September 2011. The prosecution case rested on two confessions allegedly given by the appellant on 4 October 2011 and 6 October 2011 respectively. These confessions were videotaped, and the videotapes were signed by the appellant. In these confessions, the appellant stated that he was approached by the deceased’s boss and offered the money to kill the deceased. He stated that he shot the deceased and collected the money a few days later. There were certain differences in the version of events given in the first and second confessions. At trial, the appellant gave evidence that he was coerced into giving these confessions. He alleged that police officers had beaten him and placed a plastic bag over his head, forcing him to confess. There was a voir dire at the trial before Isaacs J in the Supreme Court of the Bahamas, in which the judge considered whether the Confessions were admissible as evidence. Isaacs J decided that the confessions were admissible, rejecting the appellant’s version of events. The jury convicted the appellant of the murder of the deceased and he was sentenced to death. The appellant appealed to the Court of Appeal of the Bahamas, which affirmed the appellant’s conviction for murder but allowed his appeal in respect of the sentence and remitted the case to the Supreme Court for resentencing. The appellant was resentenced to a period of imprisonment on 15 March 2015. The appellant now appeals to His Majesty in Council against his conviction.