Dr. Michael Neville – the victim’s father – stood against the death penalty for murderers in 2008!

Nassau, Bahamas — A dangerous and deadly love triangle has led to the murder of the son of a prominent psychiatrist and has left a community of friends and loved ones devastated.

Bahamas Press has dug deeper into the murder of 31-year-old Sean Neville, son of retired Sandilands psychiatrist, Dr. Michael Neville.

We have learnt police already have taken a suspect into custody, who they believe is the conclusion to the puzzle, which surrounds the circumstances of this heinous and vicious crime.

Sean, a Cavalier Construction employee, was gunned down outside his family home on Friday evening. Around 8pm police were called into the Culbert’s Hill area off Prince Charles Drive. It was around that time when they discovered the body of the victim laying alongside a grey SD vehicle. And here’s where it gets interesting:

Before the Friday’s murder a chain of events unfolded. Bahamas Press has learnt how young Sean had become friends with a young woman, who it is now believed was also a friend of the suspect.

We understand threats became common for the victim following discovery of the relationship between the young lady and the victim.

Just days before the heinous act of murder, where the victim was shot multiple times to the upper body, we understand threats intensified against Sean’s life, particularly after gas cocktail was thrown into his vehicle setting it on fire.

Sean, the father of one, became afraid. In fear for his life, seeing the intensity of the threats, he decided to protect himself. He began driving around in an unmarked SD vehicle, the same car he was found dead alongside. And this was not enough as the cunning, iniquitous, nefarious and awfully ‘vicked’ band of deadly mercenaries now parading in the streets of the capital began to sit in parked vehicles outside his residence – on the same street where two prominent MPs reside – just waiting to take the victim out! Look what the criminal minds in the country have resorted to!

BP ain’t ga tell yinner how we feel about this murder because no murder can be justified. Sin is to blame! And young Bahamians must learn – if not by now sooner than they could think – that the time is NOW to rethink their associations/friendships!

Sean Neville, like the countless others, did not have to die! Wrong friends and risky lifestyles are delivering young Bahamians closer to the graveside than expected!

WE MUST RETHINK OUR ASSOCIATIONS!

We will end our report tonight with some words penned by Sean’s father following the circulation of a 2008 Crime Commission Report, which agreed for Capital Punishment to be reinstated on murders.

Dr. Michael Neville wrote a minority report called ‘Fighting For The Peace’. Here were his exact words in that report:

“The reliance on punishment as a deterrent without adequate tools of prosecution creates an unworkable illusion.

“The discussion of the death penalty itself releases enormous emotions, but if we examine the statistical data, there is no evidence that the death penalty acts as a deterrent to others.

“The reality is most murderers are fueled by rage, despair, drugs and alcohol and they give little thought to the consequences.
“It is, of course, accepted that those who suffer execution cannot re-offend, but it requires a blind faith in the judicial system to believe that mistakes can never be made. The next component of any punishment is rehabilitation. Clearly there is no rehabilitation in execution.

“Rather, it serves as a model to society that violence is a solution to our problems. That leaves revenge and each society must decide how to deal with complex emotions. It is normal to be angry and want revenge at the loss of a loved one, but society must consider more than raw emotion. The removal of the death penalty, in my opinion, will serve to speed up the judicial process.

“It will remove the need for a unanimous verdict by the jury, as without the penalty of death a two-thirds majority can obtain a conviction; it will reduce some of the emotions in the trial and the abolition of the death penalty will enormously reduce the number of cases taken to the Privy Council, which will then reduce the workload of the Attorney General’s Office, and save the Bahamian taxpayer astronomical sums of money.

“The Bahamas is a Christian society and whilst there are a number of denunciations of murder in the Old Testament which call for the death penalty, I am unable to find any teachings from Christ that call for violence and death as solution to problems.

“My simple understanding is that in the example of Christ’s life we are asked to use compassion and forgiveness. I am therefore not prepared to sign a recommendation that the death penalty be carried out as this would be against any evidence of effectiveness and against my religious and moral beliefs.”

Pray for the family and the community…

We report yinner decide!