Dudley Seide (Appellant) v The King (Respondent) (Bahamas)

Permission to Appeal application lodged

Case summary
Permission to Appeal
Previous proceedings

Case summary

Case ID

JCPC/2025/0100

Jurisdiction

Bahamas

Parties

Appellant(s)

Dudley Seide

Respondent(s)

The King

Issue

Did the trial judge err in holding that the Appellant’s alleged confession was admissible evidence? Does certain fresh evidence render the Appellant’s conviction unsafe? Did the trial judge fail to direct the jury that the prosecution had failed to disprove the Appellant’s alibi?

Facts

The Appellant and a co-defendant were accused of robbing and killing a businessman on 15 July 2009. The Appellant stood trial on an indictment containing counts of murder and armed robbery. He was convicted of armed robbery by a majority of 8:4 but was acquitted of murder by a majority of 9:3. He was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. An important aspect of the prosecution case had been evidence of alleged confessions made by the Appellant during an interview and in a written statement. The defence argued that the alleged confessions were the result of torture, in that the Appellant had been taken to a beach at night by the police, where he was hogtied and repeatedly placed in the water until he agreed to sign fabricated documents. The defence argued that this torture had caused or aggravated an ear infection for which the police had taken the Appellant for treatment on the night of the alleged confession. During the trial there was a voir dire, in which the Judge accepted the evidence of the prosecution witnesses that no torture occurred. The Judge therefore decided that there was no basis for excluding the evidence of the Appellant’s confession. On Appeal, the Court of Appeal upheld the Appellant’s conviction. The Appellant now appeals to His Majesty in Council.