One day after a tragic shooting at a packed health centre in which, to date, no witnesses can be found, Attorney General John Jeremie appealed for Opposition support for a measure designed to encourage witnesses to come forward.

Speaking in the House of Representatives at the Red House, Port of Spain, during the Evidence Amendment Bill yesterday, Jeremie said: ’Gone are the days when witnesses were treated with respect and revered for their courage. Times have changed and the law must change to meet the needs of a changing society. Decisive action is required now if we are to maintain faith in our legal system. We must be decisive, Mr Speaker, for there is peril in inaction.’

Government, out of an abundance of caution, is seeking a special majority. And Government has the requisite numbers. Diego Martin West MP Keith Rowley, whose vote gives Government the three-fifths majority, has indicated he would support the measure. Furthermore, United National Congress MP Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj said in principle, it was good legislation which was needed and the Government was doing the right thing but said he had some reservations.

Jeremie said the bill seeks to recalibrate the criminal justice system in favour of the ends of justice. But he stressed as a whole, the bill struck a fair balance between both sides.

’Witnesses will be checked in the prevailing propensity to claim lapses in memory. Accused persons will be less likely to claim that confessions lawfully obtained were procured as a result of duress,’ he said, noting consistent statutory tests, coupled with guidance for courts on the ruling on admissibility, will be beneficial.

He said Parliament and the country were well aware of the challenges faced by the prosecution in securing convictions for offences such as murder and kidnapping, as a result of witness-tampering, intimidation and the elimination of witnesses.

’Career criminals have mastered the art of manipulating the system as it stands right now in their favour. We are all aware in this tiny country of the obstacles faced by the prosecution in securing convictions, particularly for serious offences involving notorious individuals. And on too many occasions, rogue elements in our society have been allowed to walk free because relevant evidence is deemed to be inadmissible, resulting in the untimely collapse of the prosecution’s case,’ Jeremie said.

’This Government cannot and will not allow our criminal justice system to be frustrated. We believe that the measures proposed in the bill are timely and necessary in order to enhance and strengthen the administration of criminal justice.’

He added: ’We seek nothing more than a recalibration of the criminal justice system...trials which punish the guilty but free the innocently accused. But above all, a regime that is efficient and fair to all, witnesses and the accused,’ he said.

Jeremie said it was the hope and expectation the amendments will go a long way towards alleviating the dire challenges which face the criminal justice system.

The bill provides for three main things: a) for the contents of a previous inconsistent statement made by a person to be admitted into evidence; b) it provides for the admissibility of video recordings of the voluntary statements of witnesses; c) it abolishes both the rules on admissibility of bad-character evidence and to introduce a ’rebalanced statutory scheme’ which would provide for the admissibility of bad-character evidence in accordance with prescribed statutory guidelines.