Why Murder – By Kisean Joseph
Why Murder Cases Take
Public frustration over the slow pace of murder prosecutions in Antigua and Barbuda is nothing new, but one of the region’s most senior prosecutors is now offering an explanation that goes far beyond what most people see from the outside.
Former Crown Counsel in Antigua, now Director of Public Prosecutions in St Kitts and Nevis, Adlai Smith, appeared on Observer Radio’s Big Issues program, pulling back the curtain on the complex and often invisible machinery that drives — and sometimes stalls — serious criminal cases.
Smith was direct in addressing what he described as a widespread but unfair perception that prosecutors are simply not doing their jobs. He argued that the real issue is a lack of public visibility into work that is frequently too sensitive to discuss openly.
“It is not always – it seldom is the case where somebody is just sitting down doing nothing,” Smith said. “The problem is when you don’t have transparency as to what is happening behind the scenes — or if the reason why the delay is sensitive, at least put it in some sort of a way to let people know that something is going on behind the scenes, but it may prejudice the ongoing case to reveal it.”
According to Smith, one of the most significant contributors to delays is the time required to obtain expert reports—a problem he says compounds the entire prosecution timeline. He cited the example of a vehicular homicide case in St Kitts and Nevis where the prosecution could not move forward until an accident reconstruction expert submitted findings and that expert, in turn, could not complete his work without first receiving the pathologist’s report.
“The accident reconstruction expert could not complete his report unless he had gotten the pathologist’s report,” Smith explained. “And there was a delay in terms of the pathologist giving the report. So, delay now multiplies delay in those circumstances.
Smith also pointed to challenges with DNA evidence, noting that laboratories that process such material sometimes halt work when outstanding bills go unpaid — a financial reality that he said has caused significant delays in the past.
Beyond the logistical hurdles, the DPP spoke candidly about the emotional burden carried by those working on serious criminal matters, particularly cases involving violence against children. He called on the public to extend a reasonable level of patience to prosecution departments across the region.
“Prosecutors are human — they have families, they have their own lives,” Smith said. “Certain cases may cause a particular type of stress, especially when you’re dealing with sexual offences involving little children or violence to little children. It takes a toll on you after a while.”
Smith also signalled that change may be on the horizon. He referenced the upcoming 2026 Criminal Procedure Rules — a set of reforms due to take effect across all Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court states, including Antigua and Barbuda. Under the new framework, indictable offences such as murder are expected to be brought to trial within one year of a charge being laid, while summary matters before the magistrate’s court are expected to be resolved within six months.
He acknowledged, however, that realising those targets will require confronting an already significant backlog of cases, particularly in Antigua and Barbuda.
Smith also recommended that prosecution and police departments across the region formalise their working relationship through a memorandum of understanding that would establish clear responsibilities, communication protocols, and internationally accepted standards from the investigation stage through to trial.
“There has to be an understanding between those two,” he said, referring to the prosecution and police departments. “If you don’t do that, what you’re basically doing is operating on an ad hoc basis as the need arises.”
