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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
 Having just endured what can only be described as the bloodiest and most violent year on record, Bahamians across the country, myself included, were utterly disheartened by the comments of the Chief Justice regarding the unlikely enforcement of the country’s laws on capital punishment.
According to Sir Hartman Longley, it would take a massacre; specifically the equivalent of the recent Paris terror attacks that claimed the lives of 130 people. In 2015 the murder count in the Bahamas exceeded that number by 18. Among that number were a young teacher gunned down at a stoplight in front of her child; and a teenager stabbed in the street by one of his peers. Days into the start of a new year, and already more families have had to deal with the pain of losing a loved one. But the question is: how many more must die? Have we not had enough? Has crime in this country not already reached catastrophic proportions? Do the lives of those already lost to us not warrant REAL, DECISIVE and STRONG action on the part of our lawmakers? The answer is unquestionably YES!
The comments of the Chief Justice, while distressing on their own, speak to an even more important issue: A LACK OF POLITICAL WILL! For years now, the government has stood idly by and watched as the criminal element has grown stronger and more insidious. This and previous administrations have neglected to address shortfalls in the judicial system and have interfered consistently in the work of the Royal Bahamas Police Force and now, we are all paying the price. With those very sobering realities at play, it was then disappointing to hear the Attorney General gloat about the supposed successes of the government’s lackluster swift justice initiative.
Not only were her comments distasteful, but also they are a slap in the face to the hundreds of families who have yet to receive justice from this very broken system. Her comments are nothing more than a reminder of the many failed promises of this Christie led government including the promise to make the Bahamas safer, the promise to build new courts, and a promise by the Prime Minister himself to CARRY OUT CAPITAL PUNISHMENT AS PERSCRIBED BY OUR LAWS!
While disconcerting, it is by no means surprising. The Attorney General has been ineffective, and far from impartial in overseeing the execution of the country’s laws. In fact, on more than one occasion during this term in office the attorney general has intervened to protect members of the Christie cabinet rather than uphold the Rule of Law. As a result, persons still sit in the cabinet, after interfering with the course of justice when in any other developing country that person would have been asked to step down and properly brought before a court of law. Truly a Mickey Mouse Government at its best! The Attorney General has squandered the opportunity to affect tangible and significant changes to the judicial system. Rather than simply throw numbers around, Madam Attorney General’s time would be better spent fighting to put in place laws that would tie the Privy Council’s hands to carry out the death penalty in the Bahamas and failing that, have the Privy Council removed as the final court of appeal for criminal matters.
The DNA believes that the Bahamians should not be bound by senior men in England who wish to assert their beliefs against capital punishment on a country they have no knowledge about. The DNA has, since its inception, called for the Bahamas to finally assert itself as a free and sovereign nation, able to decide for itself what crimes qualify as the “worst of the worst”. We must remember that the life of each citizen, be the individual a politician or a pauper, is to be valued and protected. That said the DNA does not support the categorizing of individuals based on their occupation or status in life. Murder is murder! The loss of ANY LIFE is one life too many.
The Chief Justice’s comments at the opening of the legal year were clearly a CHALLENGE to the legislative and executive arms of government; an exhortation and a call to action. For far too long, the criminal element has had the upper hand, while honest, hardworking Bahamians have been forced to live in fear. If we are to reverse this trend then we CANNOT and MUST not wait for a Paris-like attack before we are compelled to protect our people. Our laws give us a course of action; it is up to our leaders to take it! The time for action is NOW!
Branville McCartney
DNA Leader
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