National Breifs

DAILY NATIONAL NEWS BRIEFS 
  Vol 8 No 160 January 27, 2006 
 
The Tribune (January 27, 2006) 
PM supports death penalty - Prime Minister Christie said yesterday that he supports capital punishment. Speaking at the funeral service of slain prison officer Dion Bowles, the prime minister said he disagrees with persons who are attempting to have the death penalty revoked in the Bahamas. "Prime Ministers don't go around saying things like that -plenty people don't agree. As long as I am Prime Minister, the brothers and sisters who do believe in it, I am going to fight with them," said Mr. Christie. 
 
Former police officer calls for panic buttons to help prevent escapes- Panic buttons, trained dogs and an overhaul of the maximum security wing could prevent another deadly prison escape from occurring, said a former senior police officer. Paul Thompson said that for years he has felt strongly that there was no maximum security in the unit that houses the country's most dangerous convicted felons. He said there have been too many escapes and attempted escapes by convicts through windows and roofs for officers to think the inmates are contained. 
Mario Miller murder trial - The jury in the Mario Miller murder trial heard that the signed police statement of Ryan Miller placed his brother Ricardo Miller at the scene of the crime. Detective-Sergeant Michael Meronard read from police statement as he continued his testimony before the Supreme Court yesterday. Mario Miller, the son of Minister of Trade and Industry Leslie Miller, was stabbed to death on June 22, 2002. Two men-Ricardo Miller, also known as Tamar Lee, and Ryan Miller - are facing murder charges in connection with his death. 
 
Grace period for residents before eviction - The Ministry of Housing is giving Spring Point residents a chance to avoid eviction by granting them a week to get their affairs in order before moving them from their homes. New homes were built in Spring Point for Abaconians who had been displaced during Hurricane Jeanne in 2004. According to the ministry, the residents were given 90 days to start payment on their new homes. 
 
Residents still demanding that barge is removed - After months of assurances without action, Abaconians are demanding that the government finally fulfil its promise to remove the wreck of an oil drilling barge from their waters. More than a month after port officials promised they would begin work on removing the Canadian barge from a reef off Man-O-War Cay, the 220-foot Louis J. Goulet remains stationary. South Abaco MP Robert Sweeting told The Tribune that the barge continues to be an eyesore to the community. 
 
The Nassau Guardian (January 27, 2006) 
 
PM is for death penalty - Prime Minister Perry Christie yesterday said he agreed with a senior bishop that convicted murderers should be executed. Speaking at yesterday's funeral service for slain Prison Officer Corporal Dion Bowles Sr., Bishop Albert Hepburn called for capital punishment to be carried out. "I believe because it is in the books, if a man takes another man's life, his life must be taken too," said Bishop Hepburn, overseer of United Christian Churches. 
 
Abortion okay 'in some cases' - Though abortion is illegal in The Bahamas, Chief Medical Officer in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Merceline Dahl-Regis, said the procedure could be carried out under certain circumstances. This revelation caused some religious leaders to question whether the practice can be accurately described as "illegal" if it is technically "legal in certain circumstances," such as in cases of incest rape or when the pregnancy threatens the mother's life. Rev. Dr. C.B. Moss, while at a forum on the proposed National Health Insurance (NHI), asked project officials to explain how abortion would be covered under the plan. 
 
Gas prices could soar to $4.30 - Gas prices, now averaging $4.01 a gallon, are expected to increase by some 25 to 30 cents in February, when the next shipment of fuel arrives on the island. Word of next month's increase comes just as motorists are trying to adjust to the average 21-cent increase that they were hit with earlier this week. "We expect in the next shipment it would probably be about $4.25, maybe $4.30. It will keep going up," said Minister of Trade Industry, Leslie Miller, in an interview yesterday. 

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