Senator: Bring back hanging
GOVERNMENT Senator Dr. David Durant is saying the time has come for Barbados to resume hanging.
Recently, Reverend Paul Leacock of the First Baptist Church, Constitution Road, St Michael, told this newspaper that the country has gone soft on crime and called on Government to resume hanging for convicted killers in a society where there is justice.
Yesterday, Senator Durant told The Barbados Advocate that he was convinced now more than ever that the reintroduction of capital punishment is the way Barbados should go to address the country’s crime rate.
“I would not hinder and I would not object if the death penalty is brought back to the table,” Durant said.
A ‘wake-up call’
The Senator pointed out that Monday’s reported shooting incidents, which left one man dead, is yet another wake-up call “telling us that we have to do something about what is happening in this country before it gets out of control”.
“I fully agree with Pastor Leacock. We have to do something strong; we have to do something very robust to let these youngsters know that we are serious about law and order in this country and that we are serious about protecting the lives of our citizens in this country.
“They cannot be going around taking lives just for a payment or whatever reason they are doing it for. It is wrong, it is unlawful and it is dangerous,” he said.
Punishments ‘too soft’
Senator Durant said he also believes that the punishments handed down to persons who commit violent acts are at times too “soft”. He said, too many people are committing crimes, going to jail and eventually receiving bail.
“So if the guys are feeling that we can go up there for a short time and then we can be put on bail, then they are going to continue doing what they are doing because they seem to be treated very lightly.
“They receive just a slap on the wrist for such crimes and violence. To deal with this matter, we have to get tougher. If it comes to bringing back the death penalty to help curb this incidence of violence and put some fear in the hearts of people, then that will have to be done,” he declared.
A deterrent?
The Senator said while he was aware that there are some people who would object to his view as it relates to the re-introduction of the death penalty, the reality stands that as a small nation “we got to take some very decisive and unpopular steps”.
“Who is to say that it wouldn’t be a deterrent? You wouldn’t know unless you try. You can’t just sit back and say it wouldn’t deter them. One and two people start getting hanged and then you look at the results after a period and see how it goes.
“I am sure it will be a deterrent. No young man, as bad as he thinks he is, is going to want to go to the gallows. As a matter of fact, some of them have so much mouth outside and when you go to counsel them in prison they break down and cry, they become a different person all together. So don’t sit back and say it wouldn’t help, let us try,” he said.
(AH)