Aggressive methods needed in crime fight
thenassauguardian
The criminals in this country don't fear the government at all. They don't regard the laws of the land. I understand that approximately 300 or so career criminals are the ones responsible for all the mayhem currently being experienced in Nassau. These villains are holding over 200,000 law-abiding citizens of New Providence hostage. I have also noticed a very dangerous trend that is currently developing in Nassau. It appears that some of the friends and family members of murder victims are now hiring hit men to bump off murder suspects who are released from prison. The government must now take its head out of the sand and face this reality.
The fact that persons are now engaging in vigilante justice is an indication that they don't have any more faith in the criminal justice system. They are just fed up with the system. As far as these vigilantes are concerned, the justice system has failed them miserably. Therefore, since the system is hell bent on releasing these cold-blooded murderers, the vigilantes are now going after them.
The justice system is breeding a whole new kind of criminal in this country. Analysts have been warning for years now that this very dangerous situation would occur if the system continued to tap murderers on the wrist. No one paid them any mind. Now the chickens have come home to roost. My brother told me that while working in a barbershop in Freeport he overheard a young man who appeared to be very upset, vowing that he would take revenge on a person he believed had murdered a family member of his. This person was livid that the justice system had let the suspect in the case get off scot-free. I believe that the government must now move to implement drastic measures in order to put an end to the crime wave that is gripping The Bahamas.
The murder rate has skyrocketed in 2011. We have had a staggering 72 murders committed in just over six months in this small country. We are becoming like lawless Jamaica. Armed robberies and house break-ins are rampant, especially in the inner city communities of Nassau.
Governments were instituted by God to punish criminals. When the government fails to carry out its God-given mandate to punish murderers, thieves and rapists, then these monsters continue to break the law.
The government has been too soft in its approach to dealing with these criminals. It is high time that the government starts executing murderers and rapists. The criminals who are terrorizing Nassau know that institutions such as the Privy Council are fighting tooth and nail to keep them from marching to the gallows.
The government should immediately abandon the Privy Council. We are an independent nation. We have been independent now for 38 years. Why is the government so afraid to execute convicted murderers?
A relative of mine told me that a young man who was convicted of murder bragged to her about killing a young woman who had rejected his sexual advances. According to my relative, the ex-convict appeared to be very proud that he had killed another human being. There was absolutely no remorse in the young man. These are the kinds of people defense attorneys are fighting hard for. Yet, we wonder why so many persons are now taking matters into their own hands by engaging in vigilante justice.
The family members of murder and rape victims know that the culprits are going to get a simple tap on the wrist for their hideous crimes. The government had better start executing convicted murderers before this new trend gets way out of control. Otherwise, Nassau will become another Dodge City.
The government must also give serious thought to implementing corporal punishment for sex offenders such as pedophiles, sodomites and rapists. These sex offenders should be flogged in public. Those who are contemplating committing rape, or any other sexual offense, would think twice before going through with the crime if they were to see a convicted sex offender publicly humiliated. These rapists must be taught a lesson.
In regards to armed robbers and thieves, the state should make them pay restitution to those they stole from. For instance, if a thief steals a $800 laptop from me, he should be made to pay me fourfold for his theft. That would mean he would pay me $3,200 for my laptop. This was the law that God gave to Old Testament Israel in Exodus chapter 22.
I understand that the prison system already has a work program. The thieves should work off their debt before being released from prison. If they are unwilling to do this, then let them rot in prison.
I often hear people talking about convicts paying their debts to society. But how is a convict paying his debt to society when he hasn't been forced to make some kind of restitution to the person he wronged? He may have repaid the state by serving time in Fox Hill prison, but let us bear in mind that he wronged a citizen, not the state. This is unfair to the person who was wronged. This has to change in order to bring to a screeching halt this menacing crime wave that is destroying this country.
Additionally, persons found in possession of illegal firearms should get an automatic 10 years in prison. There are too many illegal guns on the streets of New Providence. Regarding drug traffickers, they should be put to death. Drug trafficking is a capital offense in Singapore. Drug dealers would think twice before engaging in their illegal trade in this country if such a move is made.
How many people have died from drug overdoses? How many of us have had items stolen from us by drug addicts, who then sold them in order to buy more drugs? I believe many of the murders committed in this country are somehow connected to the illicit drug trade.
Granted, these are radical suggestions. But, these are unusual times.
Jul 15, 2011
thenassauguardian
A political blog about Bahamian politics in The Bahamas, Bahamian Politicans - and the entire Bahamas political lot. Bahamian Blogger Dennis Dames keeps you updated on the political news and views throughout the islands of The Bahamas without fear or favor. Bahamian Politicians and the Bahamian Political Arena: Updates one Post at a time on Bahamas Politics and Bahamas Politicans; and their local, regional and international policies and perspectives.
Showing posts with label vigilante Bahamas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vigilante Bahamas. Show all posts
Friday, July 15, 2011
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Crime, punishment, lost faith in the judicial system and vigilante justice
What should be the punishment for crime?
tribune242
A FATHER, grieving over his dead daughter, yesterday condemned this country's highest court for restoring hope of a full life to the man who had brutally murdered her nine years earlier.
On Wednesday London's Privy Council removed the noose that had threatened the neck of Maxo Tido. Instead it sent him back to the Bahamas' Court of Appeal to fix an "appropriate sentence" for a murder they recognised as "appalling," but "not one which warrants the most condign punishment of death."
Tido was the first condemned man sentenced to be hanged by a judge after the Privy Council ruled that no longer could a jury's murder conviction result in an automatic death sentence. Rather a judge now had to consider the merits of each case and decide whether the evidence was such as to warrant death by hanging.
Supreme Court Justice Anita Allen ruled that the brutality of the 16-year-old girl's death merited no mercy for her killer-- he was to hang by the neck until dead. The Advisory Committee of the Prerogative of Mercy agreed, but stayed his execution until he could appeal to the Bahamas's highest court -- the Privy Council.
The results of this decision means a life sentence for Tido. However, it is now up to our legislators to redefine the meaning of "life" in cases such as this. In future "life" should no longer mean 25 years with good behaviour, but full life, with the prisoner leaving his cell only when the undertaker arrives to take him to the graveyard.
The dead girl's father warned that the Privy Council's decision could lead to vigilante justice if people continue to lose faith in the judicial system.
Unfortunately that faith has already been lost and, at least among the criminals, vigilante justice is on the rise.
National Security Minister Tommy Turnquest attributes 44 per cent of this year's murders to drugs. As the drug dealers squabble among themselves and settle their own scores with the gun, they are assisting the judicial system in clearing cases from the court's calendar.
For example, about two weeks ago a man accused of murder was released on bail by a judge. His trial was still pending. A week later he was dead -- shot by another who is "well known to the police," also presumably out on bail.
A few weeks ago a young man was shot in his hand in Fox Hill. If his tangled web is traced back a couple of years, two feuding factions can be found to be the root cause. They will probably gun it out until no man is left standing on either side. One side taking retaliatory measures against the other has resulted so far in at least three violent deaths in this case. This today is what is happening on our streets -- vigilante justice is alive and well.
A police officer commented a few days ago that last weekend was a quiet one on the crime front. He attributed it to the police's new strike force, which had rounded up at least 100 persons for various offences before the holiday weekend.
Opposition politicians like to accuse government for not taking crime seriously. This is nonsense. The government is doing its best, the police are doing their best, the community, where the problem lies, is yet to step up to the plate.
Opposition politicians claim they have the answer to reduce crime. If they have a secret weapon, they are guarding it closely. As far as the PLP are concerned Urban Renewal is the balm that will heal all. It had no healing charm when the PLP were in power, it would be interesting to know what makes the PLP think that it will be any different if they were returned as the government. They are trying to make the public believe that the Ingraham government killed Urban Renewal when it came to power. A redesigned urban renewal programme is still in place, however, it is no longer PLP-style.
The truth is no one --certainly no political party -- has the answer to how to reduce crime. The will of an angered people resolved to restore morality to their communities is the only power that can turn the tide. Until that day comes, the criminals will call the shots.
There are those who maintain that the death penalty is the most effective deterrent to crime. Others say it is life imprisonment. No one knows the answer. Proof hangs in the balance on either side of this complex question. When human nature is involved there is no answer that fits all.
The answer is not to rid ourselves of the Privy Council -- it is too important to this nation in many other ways. However, it is now up to Bahamians to make certain that when persons are convicted of such heinous crimes, all hope of returning to society is removed forever. This is probably the cruelest of all punishments.
June 17, 2011
tribune242
tribune242
A FATHER, grieving over his dead daughter, yesterday condemned this country's highest court for restoring hope of a full life to the man who had brutally murdered her nine years earlier.
On Wednesday London's Privy Council removed the noose that had threatened the neck of Maxo Tido. Instead it sent him back to the Bahamas' Court of Appeal to fix an "appropriate sentence" for a murder they recognised as "appalling," but "not one which warrants the most condign punishment of death."
Tido was the first condemned man sentenced to be hanged by a judge after the Privy Council ruled that no longer could a jury's murder conviction result in an automatic death sentence. Rather a judge now had to consider the merits of each case and decide whether the evidence was such as to warrant death by hanging.
Supreme Court Justice Anita Allen ruled that the brutality of the 16-year-old girl's death merited no mercy for her killer-- he was to hang by the neck until dead. The Advisory Committee of the Prerogative of Mercy agreed, but stayed his execution until he could appeal to the Bahamas's highest court -- the Privy Council.
The results of this decision means a life sentence for Tido. However, it is now up to our legislators to redefine the meaning of "life" in cases such as this. In future "life" should no longer mean 25 years with good behaviour, but full life, with the prisoner leaving his cell only when the undertaker arrives to take him to the graveyard.
The dead girl's father warned that the Privy Council's decision could lead to vigilante justice if people continue to lose faith in the judicial system.
Unfortunately that faith has already been lost and, at least among the criminals, vigilante justice is on the rise.
National Security Minister Tommy Turnquest attributes 44 per cent of this year's murders to drugs. As the drug dealers squabble among themselves and settle their own scores with the gun, they are assisting the judicial system in clearing cases from the court's calendar.
For example, about two weeks ago a man accused of murder was released on bail by a judge. His trial was still pending. A week later he was dead -- shot by another who is "well known to the police," also presumably out on bail.
A few weeks ago a young man was shot in his hand in Fox Hill. If his tangled web is traced back a couple of years, two feuding factions can be found to be the root cause. They will probably gun it out until no man is left standing on either side. One side taking retaliatory measures against the other has resulted so far in at least three violent deaths in this case. This today is what is happening on our streets -- vigilante justice is alive and well.
A police officer commented a few days ago that last weekend was a quiet one on the crime front. He attributed it to the police's new strike force, which had rounded up at least 100 persons for various offences before the holiday weekend.
Opposition politicians like to accuse government for not taking crime seriously. This is nonsense. The government is doing its best, the police are doing their best, the community, where the problem lies, is yet to step up to the plate.
Opposition politicians claim they have the answer to reduce crime. If they have a secret weapon, they are guarding it closely. As far as the PLP are concerned Urban Renewal is the balm that will heal all. It had no healing charm when the PLP were in power, it would be interesting to know what makes the PLP think that it will be any different if they were returned as the government. They are trying to make the public believe that the Ingraham government killed Urban Renewal when it came to power. A redesigned urban renewal programme is still in place, however, it is no longer PLP-style.
The truth is no one --certainly no political party -- has the answer to how to reduce crime. The will of an angered people resolved to restore morality to their communities is the only power that can turn the tide. Until that day comes, the criminals will call the shots.
There are those who maintain that the death penalty is the most effective deterrent to crime. Others say it is life imprisonment. No one knows the answer. Proof hangs in the balance on either side of this complex question. When human nature is involved there is no answer that fits all.
The answer is not to rid ourselves of the Privy Council -- it is too important to this nation in many other ways. However, it is now up to Bahamians to make certain that when persons are convicted of such heinous crimes, all hope of returning to society is removed forever. This is probably the cruelest of all punishments.
June 17, 2011
tribune242
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