FRONT PAGE COMMENT: Bring back the real deterrents
As in every other functional democratic society, we are governed, and abide by the Constitution of Barbados. Under the Constitution, a Barbadian’s right to life is guaranteed by S 12 (1), which provides that no one shall be deprived of his life intentionally, save in execution of the sentence of a court, in respect of a criminal offence under the law of Barbados, of which he has been convicted.
Yet, every day we hear of so many persons who carelessly and shamelessly flout this vital rule, and we must ask, more importantly, why our courts do not act with the full authority of the law available to them for capital crimes?
Take, for instance, the shooting of Ricardo “Rick” Bryan, callously slaughtered in the car park of The Lucky Horse Shoe in Warrens; and Andre Hinds, whose life was taken in front of his wife during a home invasion in St. Lucy. Did these two men, and numerous other murdered men and women like them, not deserve the same right to protection of life promised in the Constitution?
Surely, it is unconscionable that the likely outcome, if the individuals accused are found guilty and convicted, is that they will be sentenced to life imprisonment and spend the rest of their lives in prison where the tax dollars of hardworking, law-abiding citizens will go to provide meals and housing for them as it does for so many others already? Not to mention that in 20 to 30 years, they could also be set free by a well-intentioned, but perhaps misguided or under-informed committee, if recent experiences fail to teach any lesson (e.g. the Peter Bradshaw case)!
Where is the real justice to the victims and to their families in all of this? Where is the incentive to the weaker elements in our society to conform to the constitutional rules by which a civil society is governed, so as to remain just that – civil?
Perhaps it is time that we truly reflect on the values inherent in some of our Bajan adages, on which the past generations would have built this nation – such as “Hard ears yuh won’t hear ... own way yuh gine feel”. It is high time for criminals to feel the error of their ways, instead of the victims and their families being left to suffer only the injustice and despairing loss. We suggest it is time to bring back the cat o’ nine tails for lawlessness such as rape, praedial larceny and burglary. There exists a Corporal Punishment Act in Barbados, and for good reason – as an effective deterrent. But it can only be effective if it is used; bring it into effect instead of leaving it to catch dust on the statute books while the morals of this country continue on such a rapid decline. How many more of our citizens must be murdered?
And what of the murderers? Is it not time perhaps, for the politicians and judiciary to reconsider their stance on execution, and let the gallows swing – or the lethal injection plunge? The judiciary has shown itself capable of discerning between criminal acts of aggression, and actions carried out in self-defence, or after severe provocation. If a criminal is so callous as to take another’s life without provocation, or team up with others to do so, without a single thought as to the consequences, why should his or her life be protected while he or she sits in jail at the taxpayers’ cost? Why should we protect the fundamental rights of hardened, morally bereft criminals, when they care so little for the same rights of others, and their victims rights have been trampled? How does that send a message of compliance with the laws of the land, so fundamental to a civil society?
The rapidly rising lack of regard for property rights, and for life itself, as evidenced by the many gun-related and gang-related murders in recent times, demands that those in positions of authority use whatever legal means are available to them to protect the rights of law-abiding Barbadians. We need to show these criminals that there is absolutely no place in Barbadian society for their behaviour, and that there will be severe consequences for their illegal actions.
This is no time for amnesty-inspired lenience in the forlorn hope of rehabilitation; the decline in our society has plummeted too fast and too far. We need to bring back corporal punishment for crimes like rape and burglary, for praedial larceny, and we need to bring back the proverbial hangman. Moreover, we need to change the paradigm at an early age, and empower school principals to reintroduce corporal punishment in our schools. Too often we think of flogging in Dickensian terms, or in the context of the horrors of slavery, but the truth is that too far East is West, and we cannot expect our teachers to reinforce discipline, or, in some cases, to introduce discipline, if we take away the deterrent power of the belt as a tool of discipline. Spare the rod, spoil the child.
(Published by The Barbados Advocate.)