A Guy’s View: Which master are we serving?
“Anyone who strikes a person with a fatal blow is to be put to death. 13 However, if it is not done intentionally, but God lets it happen, they are to flee to a place I will designate. 14 But if anyone schemes and kills someone deliberately, that person is to be taken from my altar and put to death.” Exodus 21:12-14.
On Thursday evening last, a friend was expressing his concern about the wantonness of the violence we are currently seeing in the country. This is a topic that is without equal in our country at this time.
This conversation sticks out in my mind because of one thing he said. He expressed the opinion that Barbados is hurriedly reaching the stage where persons will take matters into their own hands to revenge actions taken against them. He thought that this would happen because the death penalty has been discontinued.
His logic was simple. If you kill my brother and I know that you will suffer no comparable penalty at the hands of the state, then I am left with no option but to deliver the deserved justice. This logic is grounded in the fact that there is no suitable penalty for the taking of life except the surrender of your life.
Christians have rejected this godly admonition in favour of Greek writings which, when not properly interpreted, seem to suggest another approach. If we examine 2017 Barbados and the reasons for us being here, we can reflect on which is the better method.
My friend saw the dire state of affairs he fears as a coming apocalypse. Maybe he was still wishing the best for his country, for an examination of what is happening among criminal rivals is a clear indication that his feared future has arrived.
Given modern mindsets, any appeal to persons who suffer violence to let the law take its course will fall on death ears, for there is no likelihood that the law will be seen as relevant where a death occurs. When our leaders stand up to make nice sounding pronouncements, they must ensure that their mouthings are credible. This may be lost on the issue of the death penalty.
At a level above the interest of most Barbadians, there is a debate on whether or not the death penalty should be mandatory. Section 2 of the Offences Against the Person Act, Cap. 141, as it currently stands, provides that a person convicted of murder shall suffer death. That bald statement is the law.
Modern wisdom suggests that a mandatory sentence, for any offence, may be wrong for failing to give the judicial officer the opportunity to consider the circumstances of the crime. There is merit in this argument. The draft Bill intends to change this. The portion of the amending statute with which we are concerned here is as follows:
“2(1). A person who is convicted of murder shall be sentenced to
death; or
imprisonment for life.
(2) A Court may sentence a person convicted of murder to death where
(a) the murder was committed with a high level of brutality, cruelty, depravity, or callousness;
(b) the murder involved calculated or lengthy planning;
(c) the deceased was a Judge, a Magistrate, the Director of Public Prosecutions or a legal officer in the Department of Public Prosecutions and the office of the deceased was a factor in the commission of the offence;
(d) the deceased was a member of the Royal Barbados Police Force, a member of the Barbados Defence Force, a member of the Special Constabulary or a prison officer and the office of the deceased was a factor in the commission of the offence;
(e) the deceased was a member of a group of persons who have a common characteristic such as race, nationality, ethnicity or religion and this was a factor in the commission of the offence;
(f) the deceased was a witness or a juror in a pending or concluded trial and this was a factor in the commission of the offence;
(g) the deceased was particularly vulnerable because of his age, health or disability or because of any other factor;
(h) the person convicted was convicted of 2 or more offences of murder, whether or not arising from the same circumstances;
(i) or in the opinion of the Court, there are any other exceptional circumstances which must be taken into account and which justify the imposition of a sentence of death.”
Pursuant to the proposed amendment, a court would have a number of factors to take into account before deciding whether a conviction for murder should be visited with a sentence of death. This is an improvement on the original provision.
Even the biblical instruction made provision for exceptions to the death penalty based on the blameworthiness of the offender. In granting a discretion to the court, the element of fairness is enhanced.
One suspects, however, that regardless of what the written law provides, there is a clear intention not to execute any offender in Barbados. Subsection 4 of section 2 of the amending Bill provides that where a court sentences an offender to death and that penalty is not carried out within 5 years, the sentence should be commuted to life imprisonment. Given the appeal process in murder cases, it is unlikely that all the steps would be completed in less than 5 years.
If what seems like the obvious connection between the absence of the death penalty and revenge killings is correct, we may be wasting Parliamentary time tinkering with our laws while our society descends into dark lawlessness. This may suit the international entities who pull our strings, but it does not benefit Barbados. Whose interest are we serving?