Truth stranger than fiction

THE EDITOR, Madam:

In the aftermath of the death of Dr Kevin O. Smith, leader of the Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministries in Montego Bay, St James, some critical questions need to be answered, including:

(1) Why was Smith being transported to Kingston to be charged, as opposed to that being done at the Home Circuit Court in Montego Bay? What was the purpose of this radical shift to the status quo, when the crime that Smith was being investigated for took place at Albion in Montego Bay?

(2) Why was Smith’s legal council, Valerie Neita-Robertson, QC, not informed of his transportation to Kingston? This goes against what normally ensues.

(3) Why was the North-South Highway not the primary route of travel opted for by the police personnel transporting Smith, as opposed to the Linstead/Bog Walk route, even if tolls would have had to be paid on the former? The latter is not an acceptable excuse, as, surely, the risk to reward ratio of using the Bog Walk route far exceeds that of using the highway.

(4) Why was Smith being transported in a vehicle that could not, clearly, be identified as a police vehicle? It seems to me that, typically, when civilian motorists are in close proximity to police vehicles, they are far more careful about how they drive and do whatever is necessary not to impede the smooth movement of the police as the latter navigate their vehicles in the same or the opposite direction of the traffic.

(5) Last, is the State not now, likely, to held liable for Smith’s death? If that happens, it will be another bizarre twist to the ongoing Kevin O. Smith/Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministries saga.

PATRICK GALLIMORE