It may seem, on the surface, a stretch to connect the deaths of Khajeel Mais (in 2011) and Nicholas Francis. Five years between them, different weapons used, different circumstances.
But there are two critical elements - apart from the fact that both were schoolboys - that binds these incidences together.
Firstly, the hugely unpopular Not Guilty verdict - instructed by the presiding judge, no less - coming after a mere wisp of a trial that appeared like a mirage at the end of a near-five year desert of postponements and other legal stalling, brings the Mais case painfully into the present. The "forced" exoneration of accused Patrick Powell, reputed to be a bigwig businessman and contributor to both political parties, has touched a very raw nerve amongst the public, in a manner similar to the brutal stabbing of Francis on board a public commuter bus in an apparent robbery attempt. In one case, everything was done to avoid or negate prosecution, in the other, nothing was done to forestall/prevent a needless loss of life.
Both incidents have huge implications fr the national character, and both represent a stern test for a still new administration under severe pressure to get a handle on violence that many view as out of all control or even the possibility of managing.
There is still work to be done in respect to the Francis murder, and with a name and photographs of the suspect being circulated via social media - the same social media that the Mais judge ordered the family of the victim to stop posting to - there is the hope that some part of the loop of pain will be closed for the grieving family.
But for Allana, Noel and Kimberly Mais (mother, father and sister respectively), no such closure is in the offing. The accused is gone free, thanks largely to a turnabout from the prosecution's only witness, the taxi driver in whose cab Khajeel was travelling on the fateful afternoon. Not only do they have to contend with the verdict, but with the near deafening crescendo of rumours surrounding pay-offs, the general travesty of justice, and the now oft-repeated story that Powell the elder was really acting as a proxy for the "real" killer: his hothead son.
Jahnai Powell, 21, is already being sought for the alleged beating of an old man (which crippled him), an incident which gees back to 2009, even further than the X6 shooting. He is apparently on bail in that matter.
And there we have the core of the problem. The rich and influential in this country have their cases repeatedly put off, have records conveniently go missing, or have key prosecution witnesses change their prior statements. the not-so-well-off, like the Mais and the Francis families, are forced to "just deal with it", to give interviews and speak out for "justice reform" and other platitudes that neither party has really shown the will nor the cojones for when in office.
There is simply the cascade of grief and outrage and then.......silence. The daily humdrum resumes - until the next "shocking" fatality. Word is that on Monday, interests at Francis' school Jamaica College, will stage a special "stand-in" outside the Old Hope Road gates of the school. Odd how none of the Fortis crew ever thought to march during the five-year "legal winter" that the Mais family shuddered through; worse, the not guilty verdict prompted no riots or marches or protest of any kind beyond words (just like this article, I must admit).
But if justice was really "sold" in the Mais case, as many seem to have accepted s the outcome, then that means we must prepare for more Kyle Maises. More road rage instances will occur, some by necessity involving well-heeled owners of high-end motor vehicles and also of firearms. Meanwhile, our inaction and cowardice as a populace means that more Nicholas Francises will lose their lives for the sake of their possessions (phone, watch, whatever) as many sit by and look or, at best, recoil in horror with out even attempting to intervene.
These events, the Mais-X6 verdict and the Francis slaying occurred just a week or two after the annual Heritage Week observances, and the commemoration of the life of reggae revolutionary Peter Tosh. Would any of our heroes - Tosh included - be anything but mortified at how spineless, venal and indifferent we have become?
God, how we need them now.
taxi
mother
family
X6
Patrick Powell
politics
lawyers
trust
Showing posts with label justice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label justice. Show all posts
Saturday, October 29, 2016
Saturday, October 15, 2016
National Affairs: Bangin', Gangs operate with Impunity, while Police seem merely Puny
Kingston.
Spanish Town.
Montego Bay.
Father.
Son.
Holy Ghost.
The above is more than a Christian/spiritual reference. On a more obscure scale, jazz lovers know it refers to John Coltrane, Pharaoh Sanders and Albert Ayler, the trio of saxophonists who -among others - helped push a less harmonically constricted version of jazz (call it "free", I don't particularly like that term) into main stream consideration from the late 60s into the early 70s (Sanders, the "son" in this particular trinity, is still going strong, the other 2 having passed - within 7 years of each other).
By my own stretching, it also refers to the three main urban areas in Jamaica where gang activity has been wreaking havoc and grabbing headlines. Spanish Town is actually the oldest of the three chronologically, but I don't know anyone who could argue with Kingston as the "father" in this model. Spanish Town
Spanish Town.
Montego Bay.
Father.
Son.
Holy Ghost.
The above is more than a Christian/spiritual reference. On a more obscure scale, jazz lovers know it refers to John Coltrane, Pharaoh Sanders and Albert Ayler, the trio of saxophonists who -among others - helped push a less harmonically constricted version of jazz (call it "free", I don't particularly like that term) into main stream consideration from the late 60s into the early 70s (Sanders, the "son" in this particular trinity, is still going strong, the other 2 having passed - within 7 years of each other).
By my own stretching, it also refers to the three main urban areas in Jamaica where gang activity has been wreaking havoc and grabbing headlines. Spanish Town is actually the oldest of the three chronologically, but I don't know anyone who could argue with Kingston as the "father" in this model. Spanish Town
Medieval drains addled
By a 10,000-proof cocktail
Of liquid shit chased with
Exhaust
fit only
For dogs and derelicts
Leavened by plastic bag fruits and
3-day old Chinese food
No resurrection and instead of
‘Crucify him!”
The shouts are
“Cross Roads!”
“Molynes!”
“Half Way Tree!”
“Town!”
The crush of wage slaves
Crammed 5-in-a-row as
Hell drivers play shuffle-and-deal
With State goons on
Wheels
Churches like ships
At anchor
The collared Conquistadors
Delivering the believers into
Varied stages of
Ecstasy
As they search for gold
Of their own
To varying degrees, this scenario is replicated in both of the other two - wholly inadequate infrastructure exacerbated by politically-biased "development" and massive rural-urban drift, as agriculture diminished in importance (or, more accurately, fluctuated), sent farmers scurrying out of rural bases into "Town" for promised jobs in factories that did not always materialize to the level in which they were hyped.
Jamaica has been constantly ranked as one of the country’s with the highest levels of crime. Both petty crimes and murders have fluctuated over the years. Mostly increasing by large percentages and decreasing by smaller numbers.
In 2005, Jamaica had 1,674 murders or a murder rate of 58 per 100,000 people, the highest per capita rate in the world that year. The certainly was a factor in the November 2008 Parliament decision to retain the death penalty, which is performed by hanging.
There were 1,682 reported murders in 2009 and 1,428 in 2010. Since 2011 the murder rate has continued to fall following the downward trend started in 2010. In 2012, the Ministry of National Security reported a 30 percent decrease in murders.
The decrease has been attributed to increases in police patrols, curfews and more effective anti-gang activities. Can this this really be accepted though? In a climate where both extra-judicial killings by the Police and the slaying of Police officers has increased, are we really dealing with violence in the society simply by providing more cars and personnel?
Recent flare-ups of gang- driven violence in downtown Kingston and sections of "Spain" (as the old capital is often called) suggest the answer is "No". Commissioner of Police Karl Williams has put the number of active gangs throughout the country at over 200; that's active, meaning their operations are occupying law enforcement and show up on Police blotters. This is way too high a number for a country with a population of about 3 million; I seriously doubt the cities of Los Angeles or Houston in the US, notorious for similar activity, have that many.
And then, we have to ask, what is sustaining these gangs? As in the case of outlaw groups around the world, its a case of frustration, minor to zero positive parental models, and the siren call of notoriety and even profit that "the gangsta life" has been seen as offering. This latter reason is certainly a major factor in the ongoing Lotto scam activities in Western Jamaica. With large sums of money being generated - thanks to the gullibility and greed (yes, I said it!) of US citizens, scammers have been turning on each other in an attempt to "grab all the marbles" as the phrase goes.
And don't believe that drug-running has faded into oblivion. There are still rendezvous taking place between Jamaicans and Colombians bearing coke, with that coke in turn being offered, along with marijuana, to Haitians (and Americans), in exchange for firearms - guns which, as the Commissioner has shared, are often in pristine condition.
Without putting am major dent in this operation, there will be little or no let-up in gangland killings, including of the Police, whose presence now poses little, if any threat to the gang recruits. Full legalization of marijuana (growing, consumption, distribution and export), could go a long way to toward diverting the current drugs-for-guns trade, provided the erstwhile "druggists" can show a clean police record (not that difficult). But even that is a ways off, given the glacial pace of certain legislation in Jamaica.
And this is not simply an issue of getting a handle on murders. The country's rapes per capita rate was listed as the 6th highest in the world for the period 1998 - 2000, at 0.4766 per 1,000 of the population. South Africa tops that table with 1,1954, with the Seychelles 2nd on 0.7883. Corruption is another prevalent crime with 45.56% of business managers identifying its influence in business, the 17th highest rate in the world.
Clearly, officialdom, big business and indeed community members are all complicit to varying degrees. Among the people stepping in community marches "for peace and safety" are some of the folks harbouring and tipping off their criminal relatives, lovers and friends as to the movements and intentions of the Police, and there's no shortage of anecdotes about the Police themselves being the informers. Big business, partly out pragmatism, also stays cozy with gangsta types (out of public view of course), often looking to cut deals to divert certain activities away from their offices, or in some cases, to help "launder illegitimate proceeds.
Simply, this problem is beyond money being thrown at it. We also have to throw in some genuine intervention on the social side - sustainably fund organizations that have a track record for community-building and plow even more into extra-mural education and sports across urban and rural centres. The returns on this investment may be slower, but over time, I believe, they will be greater than doubling the size of the police force or quadrupling the number of vehicles.
We also need to show more concern for enacting justice. The current flap concerning a judge's decision to "ban" social media comment on the ongoing X6 murder trial is already casting a dark shadow over the perception of the justice system as haven for the monied class and hell for those without significant material resources.
Our urban centres can become models of safety and progress, so long as we don't allow ourselves to fall into the old stale thinking patterns of more enforcement = lower statistics = safer communities.
There is, after all, another "trinity" to consider:
[Real] Development;
Justice
Safety
Jamaica has been constantly ranked as one of the country’s with the highest levels of crime. Both petty crimes and murders have fluctuated over the years. Mostly increasing by large percentages and decreasing by smaller numbers.
In 2005, Jamaica had 1,674 murders or a murder rate of 58 per 100,000 people, the highest per capita rate in the world that year. The certainly was a factor in the November 2008 Parliament decision to retain the death penalty, which is performed by hanging.
There were 1,682 reported murders in 2009 and 1,428 in 2010. Since 2011 the murder rate has continued to fall following the downward trend started in 2010. In 2012, the Ministry of National Security reported a 30 percent decrease in murders.
The decrease has been attributed to increases in police patrols, curfews and more effective anti-gang activities. Can this this really be accepted though? In a climate where both extra-judicial killings by the Police and the slaying of Police officers has increased, are we really dealing with violence in the society simply by providing more cars and personnel?
Recent flare-ups of gang- driven violence in downtown Kingston and sections of "Spain" (as the old capital is often called) suggest the answer is "No". Commissioner of Police Karl Williams has put the number of active gangs throughout the country at over 200; that's active, meaning their operations are occupying law enforcement and show up on Police blotters. This is way too high a number for a country with a population of about 3 million; I seriously doubt the cities of Los Angeles or Houston in the US, notorious for similar activity, have that many.
And then, we have to ask, what is sustaining these gangs? As in the case of outlaw groups around the world, its a case of frustration, minor to zero positive parental models, and the siren call of notoriety and even profit that "the gangsta life" has been seen as offering. This latter reason is certainly a major factor in the ongoing Lotto scam activities in Western Jamaica. With large sums of money being generated - thanks to the gullibility and greed (yes, I said it!) of US citizens, scammers have been turning on each other in an attempt to "grab all the marbles" as the phrase goes.
And don't believe that drug-running has faded into oblivion. There are still rendezvous taking place between Jamaicans and Colombians bearing coke, with that coke in turn being offered, along with marijuana, to Haitians (and Americans), in exchange for firearms - guns which, as the Commissioner has shared, are often in pristine condition.
Without putting am major dent in this operation, there will be little or no let-up in gangland killings, including of the Police, whose presence now poses little, if any threat to the gang recruits. Full legalization of marijuana (growing, consumption, distribution and export), could go a long way to toward diverting the current drugs-for-guns trade, provided the erstwhile "druggists" can show a clean police record (not that difficult). But even that is a ways off, given the glacial pace of certain legislation in Jamaica.
And this is not simply an issue of getting a handle on murders. The country's rapes per capita rate was listed as the 6th highest in the world for the period 1998 - 2000, at 0.4766 per 1,000 of the population. South Africa tops that table with 1,1954, with the Seychelles 2nd on 0.7883. Corruption is another prevalent crime with 45.56% of business managers identifying its influence in business, the 17th highest rate in the world.
Clearly, officialdom, big business and indeed community members are all complicit to varying degrees. Among the people stepping in community marches "for peace and safety" are some of the folks harbouring and tipping off their criminal relatives, lovers and friends as to the movements and intentions of the Police, and there's no shortage of anecdotes about the Police themselves being the informers. Big business, partly out pragmatism, also stays cozy with gangsta types (out of public view of course), often looking to cut deals to divert certain activities away from their offices, or in some cases, to help "launder illegitimate proceeds.
Simply, this problem is beyond money being thrown at it. We also have to throw in some genuine intervention on the social side - sustainably fund organizations that have a track record for community-building and plow even more into extra-mural education and sports across urban and rural centres. The returns on this investment may be slower, but over time, I believe, they will be greater than doubling the size of the police force or quadrupling the number of vehicles.
We also need to show more concern for enacting justice. The current flap concerning a judge's decision to "ban" social media comment on the ongoing X6 murder trial is already casting a dark shadow over the perception of the justice system as haven for the monied class and hell for those without significant material resources.
Our urban centres can become models of safety and progress, so long as we don't allow ourselves to fall into the old stale thinking patterns of more enforcement = lower statistics = safer communities.
There is, after all, another "trinity" to consider:
[Real] Development;
Justice
Safety
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)