No moral right to hang

By Garth A. Rattray

Thanks to the police, our murder figures are down. But, the practice of killing innocent people, murdering obviously pregnant women, slaughtering babies, killing the frail, sick and elderly, mutilating and even beheading victims bears witness to an incomprehensible level of utter cowardice, savagery and evil as yet unheard of in Jamaica.

No form of murder can be condoned, and I am not questioning the justice system; I however feel that not all the accused murderers are guilty and not all are getting the same level of defence. Therefore, in spite of evident rank barbarity, are we being fair when we want those found guilty put to death?

Aside from the obvious religious and spiritual significance of Easter, Good Friday always reminds me of the astonishing capability that mankind has for cruelty. It marvels me that anyone could perform cruel acts on anything, let alone on another human being.

Additionally, the injustice meted out to Jesus always reminds me that, worldwide, incalculable numbers of innocent people have been put to death by capital punishment. Here in Jamaica, obviously, no one knows for sure how many of our innocent countrymen have been hanged by the State in our modern times. But, I feel confident that none of those hanged came from the upper or upper-middle classes or had substantial financial resources.

Even if a rich and/or popular and/or well-connected individual were to be found guilty of the most heinous murder, can you foresee him being sentenced to hang? Wouldn't his high-powered legal team delay and drag out the trial until the horrific edge was blunted, memories waned, and then introduce mitigating circumstances or some doubt into the case? Can you even begin to imagine a member of a top family or someone with Caucasoid features going to the gallows?

INiqUItY OF INEQUITY

Although senseless killings, barbaric murders and mutilations have brought us to the end of our metaphoric rope, at the end of our literal rope would swing someone with distinctive Negroid features, from a poor community with no 'connections' or hope of getting a team of top-notch lawyers to defend him. The kind of defence that requires hours and hours of research and investigation and planning and strategy calls for a private team.

The legal-aid system just doesn't have the resources to do all of that. Legal competence is one thing, but with such a heavy caseload to manage, the time and money to mount the level of defence that the very rich and famous can afford just is not there.

And so, as recently brought out in The Sunday Observer piece on Dennis 'Shorty' Jenkins and his being accused in the tragic Diane Smith murder in May 1983, were it not for the sympathy and kindness of several very competent attorneys, he would have been sentenced to hang for a murder that he did not commit.

Shorty is not unique. Therefore, I am in favour of life in prison, not capital punishment. Furthermore, unless all children are assured the opportunities they deserve, unless we see to their proper home environment and education and find careers/jobs for our young men, we have no moral right to sentence anyone to death.

On her recent visit to Jamaica, United Kingdom Queen's Counsel, Baroness Scotland, urged us to abolish the death penalty. She reminded us that the death penalty is not a deterrent to murder; that, instead, we need to apprehend the killers and fix society to reduce criminality (I'm paraphrasing).

It goes without saying that she is correct, yet we have been dawdling on the subject of the death penalty for years. Isn't it time that we acted to abolish it and set about fixing the society that spawns atrocious crimes?

Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.