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ATTORNEY CRAIG TUCKETTE: VICTIMISED—THEN VINDICATED

An SKN Times Special Investigation & Exclusive Interview

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS — In a searing exclusive interview with SKN Times, Attorney has laid bare what he describes as a two-year ordeal of professional ruin, reputational damage, and political isolation—an ordeal that ended not with conviction, but with vindication.

The facts are now a matter of public record: two criminal cases, two outcomes that cleared him. One resulted in a not-guilty verdict; the other was thrown out for lack of evidence. Yet between arrest and acquittal, Tuckette says the damage was already done.

This is not a story about legal technicalities. It is a story about power, process, and the human cost when prosecution outpaces proof.

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The Timeline That Changed Everything

According to Tuckette, the cascade began after two pivotal moments in his public life:

1. His legal action against the Government in 2023 on behalf of 14 Haitian nationals, and
2. His elevation to Deputy Leader of the People’s Labour Party (PLP).

What followed, he says, was a pattern that cannot be ignored.

• 22 February 2024: Tuckette was arrested and charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice.
• 17 October 2025: He was found not guilty in relation to the 2024 matter.
• 18 February 2025 (his birthday): A second arrest on similar allegations.
• 2 February 2026: The 2025 matter was dismissed for lack of evidence.

Two arrests. Two public humiliations. Zero convictions.

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“A Cloud Was Created—and It Nearly Destroyed Me”

“I lost money. I lost clients. I lost my chambers office. I lost my political office as Deputy Leader of the PLP,” Tuckette told SKN Times.
“My reputation was dragged through the mud for two years.”

In a jurisdiction where arrest alone can function as punishment, Tuckette says the process itself became the penalty. Long before the courts ruled, the narrative had already been written in public.

He says payments owed to him for criminal defence work were halted. His legal practice withered. His studies were interrupted. Even his right to practice law, he says, was threatened.

“The court attempted to suspend me from practice because of the ‘cloud’ that was over my head,” he said—a cloud created not by evidence, but by accusation.

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The Courtroom Admission That Changed the Case

Most alarming, Tuckette says, was an admission made during trial by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

According to Tuckette, the DPP acknowledged attempting a covert operation—coaching a young woman to visit Tuckette’s office, secretly record a conversation, and return with material to be used against him.

“There was nothing incriminating,” Tuckette said.
“Because I uphold the highest ethical standards—and because I knew something was wrong.”

The recording yielded no evidence of wrongdoing. The case collapsed.

For Tuckette, the implication is chilling: if a senior attorney can be targeted with covert tactics that fail on the facts, what protection exists for ordinary citizens?

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Due Process vs. Trial by Media

Tuckette’s critique extends beyond his personal case to the broader prosecutorial culture.

He accuses the system of trying defendants in the media before they ever reach a courtroom, eroding the constitutional principle that citizens are innocent until proven guilty.

“The DPP needs to go,” he said, stressing that his view is not personal but institutional.
“He has shown conduct that does not uphold the highest standards of our legal profession in St. Kitts and Nevis or the Caribbean.”

Importantly, SKN Times notes that these are Tuckette’s assertions, now contextualised by the undisputed fact that both cases ended without conviction.

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The Bar, the Bench, and the Lawyers Who Stepped In

Tuckette credits a cadre of senior, respected attorneys for intervening when his career hung in the balance, including:

Antony Gonsalves KC

Timothy Prudhoe KC

Hesketh Benjamin

Brian Barnes

Iasha Usher

Johnathan Rattan

He also acknowledged the guidance of Anand Ramgolan SC of Trinidad.Their intervention, he says, helped preserve the integrity of the profession at a moment when it was under strain.

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What Comes Next

Now cleared, Tuckette says he will resume his studies, rebuild professionally, and consider his next steps—professionally, educationally, and politically.

But he is unequivocal on one point: silence is not an option.

“If it happened to me, it can happen to anyone,” he said.
“I will stand up against tyranny and evil.”

Invoking Caribbean legal and political history, he drew inspiration from and , figures known for confronting power when institutions faltered.

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The Larger Question

This case leaves St. Kitts and Nevis facing uncomfortable but necessary questions:

• When prosecutions fail twice, who accounts for the damage done in between?
• How do we protect due process from becoming collateral damage in political conflict?
• And what safeguards exist when prosecutorial power is perceived—rightly or wrongly—as weaponised?

Craig Tuckette’s story, now anchored by court outcomes, is no longer just his own. It is a test of institutional restraint, professional ethics, and democratic maturity.

He was accused.
He was arrested.
He was tried—in court and in public.

And in the end, he was vindicated.