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The nature of the beast
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
The people at the Constabulary Communication Network must, by now, be sick and tired of issuing news releases documenting the constant occurrences of murder in this country.
If they aren't, we certainly are mentally drained after reading and then publishing them. And with every story we publish, we are deeply troubled by what is happening to our beloved country.
The bloodletting over this past weekend alone tells the story of a country that has lost its moral compass and is indicative of a problem that has grown so large that it will be extremely difficult for us to solve it without resorting to measures that will no doubt make some people uneasy.
But when a 90-year-old blind woman is among at least 10 people murdered in the country over the weekend, we know that we are in a downward spiral that will not be easy to reverse.
According to the Constabulary Communication Network, 90-year-old Miss Inez Brown died in a fire set to her house by evil, callous, gunmen who, in their lust for blood, had invaded Hardware Lane in Newlands, Portmore, St Catherine Saturday night.
These scum - who are really cowards hiding behind the lethal power of guns - shot up three houses in Hardware Lane and, before they left, they set fire to the house occupied by blind, 90-year-old Miss Brown.
They never spared a thought for this helpless old lady. But why should we have expected them to. They have no respect for the sanctity of life, much more for the elderly. So those scumbag terrorists took the decision that all that 90-year-old Miss Brown's relatives would have to remember her was her charred remains.
With this evil, brutal act, those beasts - for they are no more than that - have destroyed the happiness and sense of fulfilment that blind 90-year-old Miss Brown's relatives and friends felt each time they interacted with her.
Their fellow beasts have done the same to the families of 67-year-old Mr Kenneth Wynter of Kitson Town, St Catherine and 61-year-old Mandeville supermarket operator Mr Vincent Young, who were both shot dead at the weekend.
We have, in the past, made clear our view that capital punishment is unlikely to deter evil people among us from committing murder. We have even proposed that legislators examine the possibility of life without the possibility of parole for persons found guilty of murder. However, until our lawmakers start examining that proposal, the fact is that capital punishment is the law, and, as such, should be observed.
Recently, the Parliament voted to retain the death penalty. However, it appears that that was merely a symbolic exercise, as the authorities continue to dither on enforcement while murders continue unabated. We therefore need to decide whether we are going to observe the death sentence, as prescribed by law, or change the law to what some people feel will be a more acceptable punishment.
What is clear, though, is that we cannot continue to allow heartless criminals free rein over the country. No sane society can continue to function this way.
As it now stands, we are courting disaster.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
The people at the Constabulary Communication Network must, by now, be sick and tired of issuing news releases documenting the constant occurrences of murder in this country.
If they aren't, we certainly are mentally drained after reading and then publishing them. And with every story we publish, we are deeply troubled by what is happening to our beloved country.
The bloodletting over this past weekend alone tells the story of a country that has lost its moral compass and is indicative of a problem that has grown so large that it will be extremely difficult for us to solve it without resorting to measures that will no doubt make some people uneasy.
But when a 90-year-old blind woman is among at least 10 people murdered in the country over the weekend, we know that we are in a downward spiral that will not be easy to reverse.
According to the Constabulary Communication Network, 90-year-old Miss Inez Brown died in a fire set to her house by evil, callous, gunmen who, in their lust for blood, had invaded Hardware Lane in Newlands, Portmore, St Catherine Saturday night.
These scum - who are really cowards hiding behind the lethal power of guns - shot up three houses in Hardware Lane and, before they left, they set fire to the house occupied by blind, 90-year-old Miss Brown.
They never spared a thought for this helpless old lady. But why should we have expected them to. They have no respect for the sanctity of life, much more for the elderly. So those scumbag terrorists took the decision that all that 90-year-old Miss Brown's relatives would have to remember her was her charred remains.
With this evil, brutal act, those beasts - for they are no more than that - have destroyed the happiness and sense of fulfilment that blind 90-year-old Miss Brown's relatives and friends felt each time they interacted with her.
Their fellow beasts have done the same to the families of 67-year-old Mr Kenneth Wynter of Kitson Town, St Catherine and 61-year-old Mandeville supermarket operator Mr Vincent Young, who were both shot dead at the weekend.
We have, in the past, made clear our view that capital punishment is unlikely to deter evil people among us from committing murder. We have even proposed that legislators examine the possibility of life without the possibility of parole for persons found guilty of murder. However, until our lawmakers start examining that proposal, the fact is that capital punishment is the law, and, as such, should be observed.
Recently, the Parliament voted to retain the death penalty. However, it appears that that was merely a symbolic exercise, as the authorities continue to dither on enforcement while murders continue unabated. We therefore need to decide whether we are going to observe the death sentence, as prescribed by law, or change the law to what some people feel will be a more acceptable punishment.
What is clear, though, is that we cannot continue to allow heartless criminals free rein over the country. No sane society can continue to function this way.
As it now stands, we are courting disaster.