TCI Senior Prosecutor under fire

By Deandrea Hamilton and Dana Malcolm

Editorial Staff

#TurksandCaicos, August 4, 2022 – Residents of the Turks and Caicos are concerned after a Jamaican media house broke the news that  a prosecutor employed to the Turks and Caicos Islands Judiciary is facing major charges against her character in her native Jamaica, but Director of Public Prosecutions Eugene Otuonye says the judiciary is on top of it.

DPP Otuonye spoke to Magnetic Media on Tuesday to reassure Islanders the case is being reviewed at the highest levels of the judiciary including the Attorney General and Chief Justice to determine how it will affect Sophia Thomas’s tenure in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Thomas is currently senior public prosecutor in the Office of the DPP.

“We are considering that decision and its implications for her employment as a public officer with TCIG and her professional standing as a Prosecutor and an Attorney. The decision taken by the relevant TCI authorities will be communicated in the normal way.” He said, noting that the review process is a fast moving one.

The Jamaica Gleaner has reported that in a verdict handed down on Friday, Sophia  Thomas became the first Jamaican prosecutor in history to be found guilty of professional misconduct.

Thomas was found to have violated the canons of professional ethics during a 2017 fraud case which had to be thrown out because of the mix-up.

But Thomas’s attorney, to Magnetic Media described the case as not due to her own ignorance and maintains  that she has a strong case for appeal.

Hugh Wildman informed, not only does he have concerns about the level of expertise of the lawyers in the case, he says his client was declared guilty before proceedings were even over.

“The chairman of the panel, Ms. Small, invited me to make a mitigation plea when the case was not yet finished.” He explained

Accused individuals found innocent do not need a mitigation plea. When she was reminded that the case was not finished, Small reportedly apologized profusely.

He says the idea that any of the attorneys hearing the case could make a premature decision was concerning to him as it meant his client did not get a fair hearing.

“That is part of the problem when you have lawyers trying lawyers. You can have a person that has a vendetta against you and you don’t know.”

Wildman explained that having competitors hear cases against each other was impractical and suggested it would make more sense to have retired court judges sitting in on cases like this.

Additionally the lawyers who heard the case do not have criminal trial experience which he thinks is a major issue.

“These are civil lawyers, these are inexperienced persons who have never had a criminal trial.  She is a prosecutor and she understands what a prosecutor has to do to get out evidence. These are people who don’t have that experience— it is unfair to Ms Thomas to have these people judging her in a case like this.”

Wildman shared that Thomas had the support of both past and present lawyers in Jamaica and the UK who were outraged at the case and the outcome.

As reported by Jamaican media and confirmed by Wildman, Thomas presented a photocopied document to the court. Thomas said it was the original but there were at least 11 discrepancies between it and the actual original.

Apparently the original could not be found and the witness who penned it was asked to rewrite it resulting in the changes. Having been handed the documents with very little time before trial Thomas’s attorney contends she did not know about the changes and at any rate the written statement was only to jog the witness’ memory.

When the discrepancies were revealed The Jamaican DPP said the prosecution would drop the case that same day.

Thomas was hired to represent the Turks and Caicos in 2021, which was also after the complaint was filed in Jamaica.  While residents questioned the wisdom of taking on a public prosecutor with such serious allegation looming, but the Turks and Caicos DPP said the decision to hire her was not arbitrary.

Otuonye, a QC, explained that Thomas had come highly recommended from the DPPs office in Jamaica and the recommendation carried significant weight in the hiring process.

Sophia Thomas was also acting Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions in Jamaica.

Wildman says his primary objective is to get the “blemish” on Thomas’s career overturned but did not rule out the possibility of suing for compensation.