A former police commissioner-turned-attorney is putting pressure on Antigua and Barbuda’s top prosecutor to open up about why authorities dismissed a high-profile cannabis importation case against a Canadian defendant, shining a new spotlight on accountability within the country’s criminal justice system. Attorney-at-law Wendell Alexander, who is representing the family of a teen killed in a recent police-involved shooting, argues that the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), as a publicly funded constitutional body, owes the public a fulsome explanation for its decision to discontinue the high-stakes drug case, rather than the brief one-sentence reference to medical reasons the office has already released.
Speaking during an interview on Observer Radio’s *Voice of the People* current affairs programme, Alexander framed transparency as a core requirement for maintaining public trust in justice institutions. “In the interest of transparency, I would say that the public has a right to know because the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions is a public office,” Alexander said. “When certain major decisions are taken, especially if the matter has become a cause célèbre, to give a proper explanation before the general public is good for the justice system.”
DPP Clement Joseph has defended his decision, noting that the accused Canadian woman is living with late-stage cancer, and that local correctional and health facilities lack the capacity to meet her complex medical needs if she is held in custody ahead of trial. Joseph also emphasized that the choice to discontinue the case was not a rushed one: it has been under active review by his office since March. He added that the case is not permanently closed, and could be reopened at a future date if the defendant’s medical situation changes.
Still, Alexander has raised questions about whether proper legal protocols were followed in the decision-making process. Though he acknowledges he does not have access to the full case file, he pointed to prior legal precedents where defendants initially ruled medically unfit to stand trial ultimately returned to court after being cleared by medical experts. He also pushed back against the common misconception that DPP decisions are immune from legal challenge, noting that even with the broad discretionary powers granted to the role under Antigua and Barbuda’s Constitution, decisions can be overturned via judicial review in the High Court if they are found to be unreasonable or an abuse of authority.
Joseph also addressed separate recent public criticism he faced over another drug case involving a Jamaican national, noting that online accusations of improper influence to drop charges were unfounded, as he had not even received the full case file when the allegations began circulating online. He reiterated that the Constitution grants the DPP wide discretionary authority over case prosecution, and that it is not standard practice for Caribbean prosecutors to hold public press briefings to justify rulings on individual cases.
Beyond the cannabis importation dispute, Alexander is also challenging official handling of the fatal police shooting of 18-year-old Khaleel Simon, a case he has been retained to handle for Simon’s family. Alexander has made a series of serious allegations about procedural misconduct during the incident: he claims a Criminal Investigations Department detective used his personal unmarked vehicle to pursue Simon after receiving tip-off messages via WhatsApp from a female associate of the teen, and that a uniformed officer who rode along in the private vehicle opened fire on Simon without first identifying himself as law enforcement or ordering Simon to exit his vehicle.
“There is absolutely no right for a police officer in his private vehicle, bring another officer in uniform at the scene and accost Khaleel Simon,” Alexander said. “That’s not the way in which this process and this operation ought to be done.” He also added that no weapon was found in Simon’s vehicle following the shooting, contradicting unconfirmed claims that the teen was armed.
In response to the shooting allegations, DPP Joseph confirmed that the incident remains an active police investigation, and his office has not yet received the case to review for potential prosecution. Alexander confirmed that Simon’s family is moving forward with plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the involved officers and relevant authorities. The attorney is also using both high-profile cases to push for broader criminal justice reforms in Antigua and Barbuda, including the creation of an independent oversight body to investigate all police-involved shootings, mandatory timely public updates on cases of major national interest, and the consolidation of scattered criminal legislation into a single unified penal code.