Predators and prey, as it is in the Animal Kingdom so too is it with humans. Animals instinctively react violently out of the need to eat or when they are threatened. Humans on the other hand systematically calculate how to prey on others . The defining characteristic which separates the two species is the ability of humans to reason. Since we are able to reason , it follows therefore that when we decidedly kill someone, we simultaneously give up the right to expect clemency.
Opposition Senator Merlene Malahoo Forte made an absolute fool of herself in her contribution to the debate on a Bill which seeks to expunge the Record of Jamaicans convicted for possessing small quantities of Marijuana. In her contribution the Opposition Senator suggested that the record of murderers should also be expunged as everyone deserves a second chance. Forte went on to say quote: “In some countries people are rehabilitated for the offence of murder. Our own Privy Council has stated that not everyone who kills and is convicted of murder should be regarded as a murderer, in the traditional sense.
I believe I am missing something here, but what? What am I upset about ?
.….….….…..Everything!
1) I would like to see the data on rehabilitated murderers, and the countries from which they come.
Not everyone who kill and is convicted of murder should be regarded as a murderer in the traditional sense?
News for the goodly Senator/former Magistrate. If someone is convicted of murder, that person is a murderer. I understand that many of the Liberal Elites in Jamaica would like to call vicious killers something else , but they are murderers.
If there are mitigating circumstances in the commission of the offense then the offender most certainly would have been convicted of a lesser offense. If it isn’t murder the evidence may point to Conspiracy. It may point to Manslaughter, It may be murder or even manslaughter in a lesser degree based on said special circumstance.
There is no way however to make murder pretty ‚it is the killing of a human being by another human with malice aforethought.
If the evidence does not support this criteria , then it was not murder. Now I’m not sure what country the Senator is referencing. Some Scandinavian nations are very creative in the way they approach Punishing criminals. I am yet to learn whether they actually expunge the records of convicted murderers. In fact their approach to punishment coupled with their economic bouyancy may be a significant factor in their extremely low murder rates.
Jamaica has one of the World’s highest incidence of murder. Criminals kill with wanton disregard for life. Why would anyone in a position to influence and shape Policy want murderers to walk around with pristine records. What is the motivation then for those who decide not to take life.
In Christian Theology it is reported that two thieves were crucified with Jesus Christ. Jesus did not intervene, he did not try to change the penalty imposed on them by law. He offered one eternal life because he repented. Despite the belief that that thief found solace in the Lord , he still paid the price for his crimes. Actions have consequences.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with redemption for killers after they pay their debt to society. We simply do not expunge their record. You get to have a clean record by not committing crimes. What is the reward for those who play by the rules? What is the idea behind the constant desire to reward the most despicable and brutish among us?
Just recently two men reportedly walked into a Car dealership and summarily executed a manager on Maxfield Avenue. Thanks to Technology one of the killers has been apprehended. This case is no different than the hundreds of homicides committed in the tiny Caribbean nation annually. It is just one where the killer was identified. On the rare occasion these demented cretins are caught and convicted , how could any sane person want their record expunged?