Jaime Valdéz spent 17 years in Phoenix before he was deported to Mexico in February, in what he says is retaliation for protests against
Oriel Siu, left, at a demonstration outside the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Wash., March 11, 2014.Thomas Soerenes/The News Tribune/AP Photo
the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. On Tuesday, Valdéz turned himself in at the port of entry in Nogales, Ariz., to protest what he calls the inhumane practice of separating families. He hopes U.S. authorities grant him humanitarian parole.
“The president says he wants humane treatment, which is exactly what I was fighting for when ICE retaliated by deporting me,” said Valdéz, 31. “I hope that more humane treatment can start with our cases today.”
This act of civil disobedience by Valdéz is part of a growing campaign against President Barack Obama’s policy on deportations, which are expected to reach the 2 million mark this month. What started several months ago with isolated protests at immigration detention centers and border crossings has expanded into a national movement that will reach a crescendo on Saturday, when immigration reform advocates in more than 40 U.S. cities engage in a national day of action and call on Obama to suspend deportations.
Vybz Kartel flashes the ‘Gaza’ sign as he exits the Supreme Court in downtown Kingston yesterday. The entertainer was given life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 35 years for his role in the August 2011 murder of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams. (PHOTO: BRYANCUMMINGS)
Jamaican Judge Lennox Campbell sentenced Adijia (Vybz Kartel Palmer to Life in prison,without the possibility of parole until he has served 35 years.All of this is predicated on whether Kartel loses his appeal. This website and this blogger in particular, has been particularly angry at Jamaican Judges for their liberal stance particularly in sentencing and the Granting of Bail. I believe that Bail should not be used as punishment. However ‚there should be serious evaluation done on a case by case basis regarding the granting of Bail,when the charges are murder and other serious offences. Courts simply cannot be in the business of returning homicidal murderers to the streets to kill time and again before they face trial on the first charge. As such I wrote a series of Articles which I designated the mad Liberal Agenda of Jamaica’s Judges> The Observer of April 4th, 2014 story titled [Why Kartel got life] alluded to the fact that Lennox Campbell was in fact a Liberal Judge.
Michael Lorne, who represents Campbell, asked for a 15-year prison term and said that the judge could consider going lower, noting the judge’s history of imposing modest sentences. The lawyers said that the men were not beyond rehabilitation and that they could contribute to society if released early.
We feel vindicated , that we had not spent all that time trumpeting the problems in the system because we are mean or unfair. This statement came from a well-known Criminal Defense Lawyer. I commend Lennox Campbell on his reasoned assessment of the evidence presented in his court. We are thrilled that he now sees fit to seriously look at murder accused the way they ought to be looked at. Despite what appears to be rebirth of Lennox Campbell, this publication and this humble Blogger will continue to look at the actions of the courts and bring them to the attention of the world.
Kartel flashes Gaza sign
In handing down the sentences, Justice Campbell outlined that he took into consideration the fact that the murder of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams on August 16, 2011 was planned and premeditated; that Williams’ body had been concealed; the mental stress Williams had been put through before his murder; and the attempt to destroy evidence. http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Why-Kartel-got-life_16409626
That is all we ever ask from Judges , that they look at the evidence and not be swayed by opinions, and emotions. We hope that other Judges will follow suit, even as we hope that Lennox Campbell will continue to employ common sense and fidelity to the laws.
In other matters .
In asking for lenience for the men, Rogers quoted Jesus Christ from the Bible: “What you do to the least among them you do to me. Attorney Pierre Rogers, appeared for St John . Well Just when I thought I had heard it all, go figure.
The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence voted 11 – 3 Thursday to declassify parts of a secret report on Bush-era interrogations of terrorism suspects. “The purpose of this review was to uncover the facts behind this secret program, and the results were shocking. The report exposes brutality that stands in stark contrast to our values as a nation.activityi;src=4216356;type=pagev382;cat=aljaz682;u1=articles;ord=1278406701284 It chronicles a stain on our history that must never again be allowed to happen,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D‑Calif., chairwoman of the committee, said in a statement. “This is not what Americans do.” Now that the 15-member panel votes has approved the declassification of a 400-page summary and the key findings of its report, the onus is on the Central Intelligence Agency and a reluctant White House to speed the release of one of the most definitive accounts about the government’s actions after the 9⁄11 attacks. The CIA will now start scanning the report’s contents for any passages that compromise national security. That has led to fears that the CIA, already accused of illegally monitoring the Senate’s investigation and deleting files, could sanitize key elements of what Senate investigators aim to be the fullest public reckoning of the “enhanced interrogation techniques” used on Al-Qaeda suspects in CIA-run prisons abroad. Feinstein has urged the White House to get involved. http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/4/3/senate-torture-reportciadeclassify.html
Dismayed campaign finance advocates say that the Supreme Court’s controversial McCutcheon vs. FEC decision released Wednesday morning threatens to unleash a new avalanche of money into a political system already flush with contributions from moneyed interests. But exactly who will be empowered to write more checks this election season as a result of the McCutcheon decision? Perhaps to no one’s surprise, researchers and advocates say the élite class of donors who are most likely to exceed the stricken limits tends to skew white, male, affiliated with business interests and, of course, ultra-wealthy. Before the McCutcheon decision, federal law not only put restrictions on how much individual donors could contribute to any single candidate and party committee, but capped their total contributions to all federal candidates and all party committees in a two-year period. For the 2014 election cycle, those limits were set at a total of $48,600 and $74,600 for candidates and party committees, respectively. The McCutcheon decision brings an end to those restrictions. Now an individual donor could contribute up to $3.5 million if they maxed out their contributions. According to an analysis by good governance group Public Campaign last October, a small group of 1,219 donors came close to surpassing the aggregate limits in place in the 2012 election cycle, contributing at least $105,300 to candidates, party committees, and PACs. These superdonors — those who are now freed to open their wallets even more to as many candidates, party committees and political action committees they deem worthy — include conservative billionaires David and Charles Koch, director Steven Spielberg and banking titan Charles Schwab.
Only a quarter of these donors were women, according to the analysis. Almost half of them lived in the richest 1 percent of neighborhoods, as calculated by per capita income. Fewer than 1 in 50 lived in a majority African-American or Hispanic neighborhood, as compared to 1 in 6 of the general population. And 28 percent of them worked for Wall Street or had roots in the financial sector. “These élite donors stand apart from the rest of America; they are overwhelmingly wealthy, white, and male,” the report read. A similar analysis by the Sunlight Foundation found the “most likely to exceed” mega-donor group — those who early this year were already at or near the limit for the 2014 election cycle — included many of those who had vested interests in Washington. They include Stephen Bechtel Jr., whose engineering firm Bechtel Corp. has a strong lobbying presence in Capitol Hill on nuclear issues; billionaire Texas oil magnate Paul Foster; former Goldman Sachs managing director Muneer Satter; registered tax lobbyist Ken Kiers; and several hedge fund managers. “It skews the entire system to the top, to those who have money, and it puts the decision making further into the hands of those that are already doing quite well,” said David Donnelly, executive director of the Public Campaign Action Fund. “What they’re generally not interested in is the minimum wage or support for people who have low or little income.” Analysts predict that after the McCutcheon decision, lawmakers are likely to spend even more of their time and energy attempting to woo these superdonors. Donnelly said you could expect to see more spectacles like the pilgrimages four potential 2016 GOP presidential contenders made to Las Vegas last week to curry favor with billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who had publicly said he was looking for a candidate to bankroll. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Ohio Gov. John Kaisich, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker all made sure to affirm their support for Israel, Adelson’s primary cause. Christie even went as far as to apologize to Adelson in a private meeting after he called areas where Palestinians live “the occupied territories” — a description that the U.N. uses to describe the West Bank and East Jerusalem but that Israel rejects — in front of a conservative Jewish gathering.
Big money at stake can have that effect on how a lawmaker positions himself, the words he chooses and even the votes he takes, advocates argued. “Who is your member of Congress going to meet with, a constituent or donor, someone’s written a million-dollar-plus check to advance the party’s interests?” said Stephen Spaulding, policy counsel for the liberal-leaning group Common Cause. “That’s human nature — they are going to have a seat at the table that the constituent isn’t going to have.” And that diminishes the voices of average Americans and their interests, advocates said. “All they need to do is cut a check when a member of Congress asks them to and they’ll get their phone calls returned,” said Paul Ryan, senior counsel for the Campaign Legal Center, an organization that works on campaign finance issues. Ryan added that he expected to see unprecedented corruption as a result of both the McCutcheon decision and Citizens United, which unlocked the gates to unlimited spending by corporations and individuals through super PACs. “The Campaign Legal Center would like to see an American democracy that is truly democratic that reflects the vast diversity of our county,” Ryan added. “When you look at who’s contributing to bankroll the system, we are seeing an overwhelmingly white and male and wealthy donor base that doesn’t look the America I live in.”http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/4/2/mccutcheon-fec-donorsaggregatelimits.html
Dance-hall Disc Jockey and entrepreneur Adijia Palmer otherwise called Vybz Kartel who was convicted with his three accomplices for the killing of Clive Lizard Williams was this morning sentenced to life along with his three co-accused. This sentence is as strong as it gets for capital murder because of the moratorium on Capital punishment. This verdict will undoubtedly be seen as unjust by certain quarters of the Jamaican populace in light of the draconian and obviously arbitrary manner in which Senior Resident Magistrate Judith Pusey disposed of the Kern Spencer criminal case.
Governance is a Covenant between those Governed and those who Govern. Our Judicial System is an equal part of that Government structure. In fact our courts are generally looked at as the last place to get reasonable solutions to our everyday problems, criminal or civil. When the Courts loses that awe, that respect ‚the ensuing is chaos. It cannot be that some people are led to believe Prisons are only for the very poor and dispossessed. In order for the system to work effectively the people must buy into it. For objective Jamaicans at home or abroad ‚the strong sentence of these accused is a good first step in dealing with brutish murderers. However when it is juxtaposed with the Spencer verdict it leaves a bitter taste in our mouths.
Anthony Gomes’ Article in Wednesdays Observer Titled “Heads continue to roll with impunity in Jamaica” Was particularly potent and instructive. Gomes raised the issue that the Jamaican Government and criminal supporters would much rather see left alone. Mister Gomes effectively pointed to the fact that Jamaica is in fact prevented from carrying out the will of the people in executing violent murderers by the United Kingdom Privy Council. Even as that body seem to be confused about what should constitute an understanding of capital murder. Mister Gomes stated quote: The majority decision by the Law Lords almost sounds like a play on words, without due concern for the innocent life that has been extinguished. http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/Heads-continue-to-roll-with-impunity-in-Jamaica_16387320.
Incidentally that is not just the mentality of the far removed Privy Council, which by the way couldn’t care less about crime in Jamaica. It is also the view of the pretentious pseudo bourgeois elites in Jamaica. The (neva si cum si)
Jamaica is spiraling out of control because the will of the People have been circumvented for decades. Many Jamaicans have effectively refused to take part in the process, this is a mistake. This enables the idiots to fill the vacuum they leave. The result is that Jamaicans are now being led by the stupidest in the society. Apathy is not a viable solution, yet it is understandable in a country with such a high rate of illiteracy. Progressive intelligent people feel overwhelmed by the hoards of illiterates, looking for nothing more than a belly full. In National Elections held December 29th 2011 reports from the Electoral Office of Jamaica indicates that only just over 50 per cent of the entire voting population voted on Election Day 2011. This low voter turnout may have thrown off the prediction of opinion polls to some extent. The win by the PNP shocked even its leaders, such as Peter Phillips who said that “the results certainly exceeded our most optimistic scenarios. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaican_general_election,_2011.
You can’t make these facts up. The PNP did not expect to win, they knew they had screwed the Country Royally and did not deserve to be handed the reins of Government again anytime soon. Someone commented recently that all the good people have left Jamaica, that is not true. The majority of the Jamaican people are still decent good people, they have just chosen to remain silent in the face of this scourge that was unleashed on their way of life. They feel powerless to do anything about it, so they remain silent.
Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips
In the process of remaining silent they allowed the entire Jamaica to be infected with the mentality of Saint Andrew South Western .
The Country slides deeper into bankruptcy daily. Jamaica’s debt stood at a staggering Jam$1.7 trillion in 2012. The Leadership is not only incompetent it is corrupt. They are virtually untouchable by law enforcement. The Courts which was once seen as a beacon of hope standing between the two bands of criminals in both sides of the political divide, is now from all appearances wallowing in the mud of corruption. It is a viscous self-perpetuating cycle which feeds on itself. The top is dirty, the lawyers are having a field day defending the criminals brought before the courts. They know if certain measures are adopted crime will drastically decrease. It is no wonder that trial lawyers in Jamaica are hell-bent against the rule of law.
President Obama “Armageddon has not arrived, mocking Republicans scare tactics, intended to prevent Americans from signing up. ” Speaking from the White House the President Trumpeted 7.1 million Americans signed up to the Affordable Health Care dubbed disparagingly (Obama care) by Republicans who have tried over 50 times to Repeal this piece of Legislation. The President’s signature piece of domestic legislation .Obama lamented the reasons why anyone would not want everyone to be able to afford Health Care,. The President” I don’t get it why would anyone want to deny others the right to have health insurance”?
The Editorial Page of Monday March 31st with great clarity shows why people cannot depend on traditional Media Houses for credible information and reasonable news commentary. The Publication’s attempt to discredit the Director of Public Prosecution amounted to not much more than a disastrous witch-hunt.
1) Editorial Points contradicting… well the Editorial points.
For while we accept, and insist on, and avail ourselves of the right that the judiciary cannot be above questioning and criticism, we feel that Ms Llewellyn should take stock.
2) Ms Llewellyn has made it clear that had she the right of appeal, as is now being proposed for some circumstances in Jamaica, she would. That’s well enough. But Ms Llewellyn, unless we misinterpret her utterances, has done more, and gone too far.
3) To be sure, despite her attempt to couch her criticisms of RM Pusey’s disagreement based on law, tone and context betray something deeper, we suspect. For instance, when an interviewer juxtaposed the outcomes of the Spencer-Wright case and the guilty verdict in the Vybz Kartel murder trial, placing the different decisions in the context of class and argued that justice in Jamaica was on trial, Ms Llewellyn agreed that “justice was not served” in the Spencer-Wright decision.
4) Then there was the television discussion program in which Ms Llewellyn pursued her belief that the magistrate had made an error in the law, which is a position she is entitled to hold and declare. What was disconcerting, unless we misapprehended her intent, was the DPP’s reference to two cases on which Ms Pusey had returned guilty verdicts but was overruled at appeal. That appeared to us, circuitous though the effort may have been, a questioning of Judith Pusey’s competence as a magistrate.
Unlike the DPP and judges of the Supreme and appeal courts, magistrates do not have security of tenure. There is no requirement for the convening of high tribunals to remove them from office. In that regard, if the DPP believes that Ms Pusey is judicially incompetent, or worse, she should, and can, properly raise the matter with the chief justice so that the applicable civil-service regulations be activated and the appropriate decisions arrived at. http://jamaica-gleaner.com/
There was a time when this Publication was respected in our country and the greater Caribbean region . That time has passed . Like everything else in Jamaica the standard of Journalism and Editorial objectivity once expected has dissapeared down the gutter of ghettoization , sacrificed on the altar of political expediency. No mention of the fact that a simple project ‚intended to distribute free light bulbs donated by the Cubans to Jamaicans was turned into a cash pot for one member of Parliament. No questions asked about where Kern Spencer and his so-called assistant got all that money they deposited into their accounts on succeeding days to buy high end SUV . No questions or mention of the fact that a single misguided Magistrate hijacked the process and allowed another politician to go free despite the evidence. Why would the Editorial page ask these questions? It can’t ‚because it was the very same newspaper which sold the people on this incompetent Party in power headed by the chief incompetent, Portia Simpson Miller. This Publication has demonstrated it is no longer relevant on topical issues. It’s views now are exactly the dastardly views coming out of Jamaica House. It is a sad day that a once proud Publication like the Gleaner would surrender its Journalistic excellence to become part of a ghetto cult. It is a sad day when a Publication would side with those who do harm to the people, then have the gall to attack those who speak on behalf of the people.
North and South Korea have exchanged fire into the sea across the disputed western sea border, South Korea says. North Korea announced early on Monday that it would hold live-fire drills in seven parts of the border area. South Korea says it returned fire after North Korean shells landed in its territorial waters. The area has been a flash-point between the two Koreas. The UN drew the western border after the Korean War, but North Korea has never recognized it. n late 2010, four South Koreans were killed on a border island by North Korean artillery fire. Border fire was also briefly exchanged in August 2011.
The western sea border is a flashpoint — in this 2010 incident North Korean fire killed four South Koreans
The live-fire exercises were announced by North Korea in a faxed message from its military to the South’s navy. South Korea warned of immediate retaliation if any shells crossed the border. “Some of [North Korea’s] shells landed south of the border during the drill. So our military fired back north of the border in line with ordinary protocol,” a defence ministry statement said.South Korea said the two sides exchanged hundreds of shells.“The North fired some 500 shots… and some 100 of them landed in waters south of the border,” said Defence Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok. The South fired more than 300 rounds in return, he said. Residents of a border island, Baengnyeong, were evacuated into shelters during the three-hour incident. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26815041
In November 2010, North Korea fired shells at the border island of Yeonpyeong, killing two marines and two civilians. It said it was responding to South Korean military exercises in the area.Earlier that year, a South Korean warship sank near Baengnyeong island with the loss of 46 lives. Seoul says Pyongyang torpedoed the vessel but North Korea
on the border
denies any role in the incident. ‘New form’ test .China — North Korea’s biggest trading partner — called for calm and restraint after the exchange of fire. It came days after North Korea test-fired two medium-range Nodong missiles over the sea, its first such launch since 2009.Late last week, the UN Security Council condemned the launch and said it was considering an “appropriate response”. That launch followed a series of short-range missile tests, seen as a response to the current US-South Korea annual military exercises. Over the weekend, North Korea also threatened to conduct a “new form” of nuclear test. It has conducted three nuclear tests to date, the most recent in February 2013. South Korea’s Unification Ministry said on Monday that there was no sign a North Korean nuclear test was imminent.
This question evokes scowls of incredulity from certain quarters , yet it is important to look at the two criminal cases which have kept Jamaicans riveted to court-watching over the last few years. The cases involved 1) the criminal murder trial of Adijia Palmer dance-hall icon and entrepreneur and 2) the Money laundering and fraud charges Kern Spencer( PNP ) Member of Parliament and Junior Energy Minister faced. Conscientious observers who want a crime free Jamaica saw these two cases as a watershed moment in the country’s fight to break the back of corruption. Emotions ran high on both sides of either case. Many dug in based on political loyalties in the Spencer case and many are unable to digest the seriousness of murder in the Kartel case. A double guilty some thought, would send a strong message to two important sectors of the country ‚that no one was above the laws. The man on the streets , ever suspicions of the criminal justice system, would never accept that Kartel may have been correctly convicted of murder. After all Kartel’s own defense was based solely on the notion that he was framed by the evil system. A move designed to take full advantage of the distrust certain sectors of the society have of the Police. The decision by Resident Magistrate Judith Puseyto summarily dismiss the case against Kern Spencer will cement the notion that there are two different brands of Justice in Jamaica for a long time to come. Pusey did serious damage to the system of Justice from the start. Whether it was ego, corruption or principle involved, it may forever depend on who you talk to .
Kern Spencer
Notwithstanding, the perception of many ‚is that the outcome of the Kern Spencer criminal case was decided before it was even mentioned in the courts. To the man on the streets Kartel is representative of them , their struggles, their wish to shine despite adversities. Kartel is them , his successes are theirs they believe. They live vicariously through him. Kernrepresents the political class, insulated from the laws,rulers who do not need to account. In this case I believe the actions of the trial judge made that absolutely clear. Both the societal elites and the man on the streets may wish to reflect on these two cases. The upper-crust-mentality which ignores the fact that a serious breach may have been committed, yet was allowed to go unpunished, are no different than the man on the streets who closes his mind to the fact that Clive lizard Williams is dead and their hero may very well have had something to do with it.
Residents in several violence ravaged communities in West and East Kingston have marched recently demanding a halt to the continued violence in their communities. Some critics have been quick to dismiss the marches as inconsequential and meaningless. For decades residents in multiple communities within the greater Kingston metropolitan area, as well as Spanish Town and a few other communities in Clarendon, have been virtual prisoners in their communities. Communities like Arnett Gardens, Wilton Gardens, Tivoli Gardens, Dunkirk , Nannyville , and a host of other communities built by both political parties and packed with their supporters have had to deal with certain codes of conduct beneficial to the Politician and the” Don”( local criminal-enforcer).
Tivoli Gardens
Over the years politicians who initially delivered guns to underprivileged young men to ensure their hold on constituency seats , have seen that control evaporate as monies from the drug-trade, extortion , the Lotto-scam, murder for hire and other crimes superseded what little monies they could dole out. Eventually rifts emerged between those criminal factions. Empowered with semi-automatic and automatic weapons and a seemingly unending supply of ammunition, communities found themselves at war. War broke out between different factions on different streets fighting over turf. That turf is generally Extortion turf outside their depressed communities. With politicians and antagonist criminal supporting groups providing cover, the security forces find themselves fighting a losing battle , stuck between gangs and their protectors in Gordon House. After thousands of community members killed over the last 30 years some residents are finding their voices and calling for a change. I say it is a step in the right direction, marching is not a panacea, it is a beginning.
Downtown Kingston
Residents have the power to put a stop to the violence by standing up just as they allowed it to metastasize by remaining silent. It will be a long slow plod back to taking back some communities which have not operated as parts of the greater Jamaican community for decades. Some communities have been unofficially deannexed ‚taking their orders from local criminal enforcers.Generations have grown up within these communities having no concept of wrong or right, only catering to their base instincts of survival and loyal acquiescing and obedience to the dictates of the Don and their political leaders.
residents of Arnett Gardens demonstrate to have their illegal electricity supply restored
Recently the Jamaica Public service company (JPS )disconnected electrical connections from their power-lines in Arnett Gardens. These connections facilitated the theft of electrical power from the company. Invariably that cost is passed on to the captive paying customers of the company. Residents of Arnett Gardens blocked the roads , disrupting vehicular traffic to and from their community , demanding that the company reconnect the wires so they may continue stealing electricity. Marching will not solve Jamaica’s crime problem , no more than the police begging criminals not to commit crimes will. If however, it signals a reorienting and realigning of the people’s attention , I am all for it . Jamaica is a beautiful country made horrible by it’s people. At some stage we will have to take responsibility for what we have done with that coveted little Island. From all appearances we have demonstrated we are unable to properly govern ourselves.
This placard carries a strong message from residents of West Kingston who say they are tired of violence in their communities.
Residents march for peace
POLICE have increased security along Spanish Town Road, in the vicinity of Denham Town, after receiving reports that residents in West Kingston have again come under threat from gang members locked in a deadly feud in the city’s west end. West Kingston residents said they have been ‘living on edge’ as the conflict between criminals from Tivoli Gardens and Denham Town has escalated. The gangsters, they said, have now set up a so-called imaginary border where residents have been warned not to cross. “… They have threaten to kill anyone from opposing communities who try to pass that area,” said a man who resides in Denham Town. The man, who asked not to be named because of the fear of being attacked, was among a small group of residents who shared similar sentiments with the Jamaica Observer on Thursday. “Right now the people are living in fear; police are doing what they can but the criminals find ways to work around them,” said a female resident from Tivoli Gardens. Member of Parliament for West Kingston Desmond McKenzie, confirmed the reports about the attacks. “I have heard of the reports and the people in communities are calling on the police to increase their presence as Spanish Town Road is the major hot spot,” said McKenzie.
Residents of west Kingston march in for peace
He said that efforts by the police to bring crime in the area under control was bearing fruits. McKenzie said the majority of people were buying into the concept that crime in the division cannot continue. Head of the Kingston Western Division Steve McGregor have also confirmed receiving reports of attacks by feuding gangs in the area.. “Police are keeping a 24-hour presence along Spanish Town Road as we have heard about these reports,” said McGregor. Yesterday, one resident claimed that at least two families were instructed to leave from where they were living because they had relatives in the opposing community. Police have warned that they would leave no stones unturned in going after criminals who were hell bent on creating havoc in the area. At the same time, the constabulary said its work with several agencies have been making significant headway in ‘breaking the back of the crime monster’ in West Kingston. It noted that programmes such as the youth curfew, under which youngsters under the age of 17 must be off the streets by 9:00 pm, as well as the programme where motivational speakers meet and hold discussions with residents, have been welcomed by the people of West Kingston. http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Police-keeping-close-watch-on-sections-of-West-Kingston_16364297
Livingston Cain, the juror accused of attempting to bribe fellow jurors in the Vybz Kartel murder trial, leaves the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court with his lawyer Dian Watson, yesterday. (PHOTO: LIONELROOKWOOD)
LIVINGSTONCAIN, the juror accused of attempting to bribe fellow jurors to return not-guilty verdicts in the Vybz Kartel murder trial is still maintaining his innocence in the matter. “We can’t reveal [what the defence] is at this time but he’s maintaining his innocence of course, Dian Watson, Cain’s attorney, told reporters yesterday after the matter was mentioned in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court in Half-Way-Tree. Cain’s $750,000 bail was extended until April 24, by which time the prosecution is expected to provide the defence with transcript from an in-chambers meeting where the attempted bribery was discussed in the High Court after it was reported. The prosecution is also to turn over a cellphone allegedly used by the jury foreman to record her conversation with Cain. The items were requested by Watson, who told the court that the defence wishes to have its own expert examine the phone. Cain is charged with five counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice and one count of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
Kartel
He is accused of offering the jury foreman in the Kartel murder trial $500,000 for a not-guilty verdict. It is also alleged that Cain told another juror that he would “take care of him” if he returned a not-guilty verdict as well. He is also alleged to have approached other jurors. Cain was the only juror to vote not guilty in the conviction of Vybz Kartel, Shaw ‘Shawn Storm’ Campbell, Andre St John, and Kahira Jones. A fifth man, Shane Williams, was acquitted. The men were convicted for the August 16, 2011 murder of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams over the disappearance of two illegal guns. http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Kartel-juror-maintains-innocence_16371754
James Charles Evers (born September 11, 1922) is an important civil rights advocate in the United States. The older brother of civil rights martyr Medgar Evers, Charles Evers is a leading civil rights spokesman within the Republican Party in his native Mississippi. He was the first African American elected since the Reconstruction era as mayor in a Mississippi city, in Fayette in 1969. He ran for governor in 1971 and theUnited States Senate in 1978, both times as an independent. Born in Decatur, Mississippi, Evers had a strong, devoutly Christian mother and father. During World War II, Charles and Medgar Evers both served in the U.S. Army. Charles fell in love with aFilipina woman overseas. They could not marry her and go to his native Mississippi because of her “white” skin color. Mississippi had enshrined Jim Crow rules in its constitution, which prohibited interracial marriages. In Mississippi about 1951, Charles and Medgar Evers grew interested in African freedom movements. They were interested in Jomo Kenyatta and the rise of the Kikuyu tribal resistance to colonialism in Kenya, known as the “Mau-Mau” Rebellion as it moved to open violence. Along with his brother, Charles became active in the Regional Council of Negro Leadership (RCNL), a civil rights organization that also promoted self-help and business ownership. He drew inspiration from Dr. T.R.M. Howard, the president of the RCNL, who was one the wealthiest blacks in the state. Between 1952 and 1955, Evers often spoke at the RCNL’s annual conferences in Mound Bayou on such issues as voting rights. Around 1956, Evers’s entrepreneurial gifts and his civil rights activism landed him in trouble inPhiladelphia, Mississippi. He left town and moved to Chicago. There, he vowed to support the movement back home, and fell into a life of hustling, running numbers for the Mob, and managing prostitutes. The money he made was said to have been substantial, and much of it was sent back to help the Civil Rights Movement. In 1963, Byron De La Beckwith shot Medgar Evers as he arrived home from work. Evers died in an ambulance on the way to the hospital. Charles Evers was shocked and deeply upset by news of his brother’s death. Over the opposition of more establishment figures in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) like Roy Wilkins, Charles took over Medgar’s post as head of theNAACP in Mississippi. https://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Charles_Evers.html
Scholar and activist W.E.B. Du Bois was born on February 23, 1868, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. In 1895, he became the first African American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard University. Du Bois wrote extensively and was the best known spokesperson for African-American rights during the first half of the 20th century. He co-founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1909. Du Bois died in Ghana in 1963.
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, better known as W.E.B. Du Bois, was born on February 23, 1868, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. While growing up in a mostly European American town, W.E.B. Du Bois identified himself as “mulatto,” but freely attended school with whites and was enthusiastically supported in his academic studies by his white teachers. In 1885, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to attend Fisk University. It was there that he first encountered Jim Crow laws. For the first time, he began analyzing the deep troubles of American racism.
After earning his bachelor’s degree at Fisk, Du Bois entered Harvard University. He paid his way with money from summer jobs, scholarships and loans from friends. After completing his master’s degree, he was selected for a study-abroad program at the University of Berlin. While a pupil in Germany, he studied with some of the most prominent social scientists of his day and was exposed to political perspectives that he touted for the remainder of his life.Du Bois became the first African American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1895, and went on to enroll as a doctoral student at Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität (now Humboldt-Universität). (He would be awarded an honorary doctoral degree from Humboldt decades later, in 1958.)http://www.biography.com/people/web-du-bois-9279924
Whose grand idea was it to investigate where there are no allegations of impropriety ‚or criminal misconduct? The Jamaica Constabulary Force certainly needs oversight. No one could reasonably disagree with the idea of oversight of Police Agencies and certainly not the (JCF). Oversight however should not be a witch-hunt with personal agendas . Why waste time and scarce resources looking for wrong-doing where there is none. Interestingly as is customary in Jamaica where everything is done incorrectly, that is exactly how they do business. The formation of the neophyte Agency , the Independent Commission of Investigation (INDECOM) does exactly that. The Agency’s head Terrence Williams the first to head the Agency has been little more than a power-hungry Media whore whose bid to become the Director of Public Prosecution fell flat. Since becoming Commissioner of this virgin Agency Williams seemed to relish in the idea of creating a rift between the new Agency and the JCF, to show Independence and prove his bona fides. In fact Williams made that point clear by attending a Press Conference with Carolyn Gomes then head of anti-police Antagonist group, Jamaicans for Justice(JFJ). That decision created much angst and consternation among members of the police department. If Terrence Williams wanted to deliberately create enemies , he succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. That did not seem to bother Williams who has continued to seek out the media in a push for more power. Because of it’s lack of objectivity Jamaicans for Justice, is not taken seriously by objective observers. The group is largely supported and embraced by criminals and their supporters.
Despite Williams rapacious hunger for power and his pitiful pleas for more, INDECOM has been forced to concede that in the majority of cases it investigated, there was no wrong-doing on the part of officers. Now let me be clear, I am elated that this Elitist Agency is looking into police conduct. If INDECOM has the trust and confidence of the population then all the better for the blue-collar members of the JCF, who actually produce results for the pittance they are paid.
Peter and Portia Peter may have to explain it to Portia
The difference in countries like the US , Canada and the UK is that these countries believe in the rule of law. Their law-enforcement oversight takes nothing from the process it enhances the process. Officers get to do their jobs safe in the knowledge that as long as they follow the laws they are insulated from criminal prosecution. Can members of the JCF say the same? INDECOM snoops around every police shooting scene, this is a waste of time and scarce resources which could be more judiciously used. It creates the impression of wrong-doing , even when there are no allegations of any. Police Officers are removed from front-line duties on the flimsiest allegations made by any one police-hating witness. Many times these witnesses are manufactured. Anyone privy to the crime situation in Jamaica must gasp at this notion considering the level of support criminals get in this nation of 2.7 million.
PERSPECTIVE
1) Organized crime and other criminal elements are prevalent and extremely active. Most of the criminal activity is gang-related. The police have only resolved (make arrests) 44 percent of homicides annually, and they only convict perpetrators in five percent of the homicide cases. This leads both the public and police to doubt the effectiveness of the criminal justice system, leading to vigilantism, which exacerbates the cycle of violence. Based on their past experiences, most civilians fear that, at best, the authorities cannot protect them from organized criminal elements, and, at worst, are colluding with criminals, leading citizens to avoid giving evidence or witness testimonies.
2) Kingston is rated “Critical” for crime by the Department of State due to a high frequency of criminal activity throughout Jamaica. Violent crime is a serious problem, particularly in Kingston. In 2012, Kingston saw a reduction in the murder rate and other violent crimes. This reduction may be attributed to proactive police actions. There were 1,083 murders, 1,218 shootings, 763 carnal abuse, 833 rape, 2,679 robberies, 3,094 break-ins, 691 larceny cases recorded in 2012. With a population of approximately 2.7 million people, the number of murders and other violence places Jamaica in the top five tiers of the highest per capita homicide rates in the world.https://www.osac.gov/pages/ContentReportDetails.aspx?cid=14289
The inept Administration in Kingston is incapable of getting anything right. Crime is eating away at the fabric of the Country. It is believed even in International circles that crime is being supported by people who ought to be working toward its elimination (not the police). Someone in the Administration with a little brain, Peter Phillips now holding the Finance Portfolio maybe, please impress upon the Prime Minister in the simplest terms possible, that passing IMF tests is good for the IMF , but bad for the people.
Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips
The daily depreciation of the dollar is proof positive that things are not getting better. This economy is eventually going to crater, when it does the blame will be hung around your neck, despite the years of harm Omar Davies did. If you believe crime is high now wait a little longer when the country is forced to apply even more austerity to satisfy the puppeteers at IMF Headquarters. Peter Phillips you bucked the system before. Maybe you need to do it again for Country.
Kartel juror Livingston Cain in a queue waiting to be searched to enter the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court in Half Way Tree Friday morning. Cain made every possible attempt to avoid being captured on camera by photographers at the scene. (Photo: Paul Henry)
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Embattled juror in the Vybz Kartel murder trial, Livingston Cain, is to return to court on April 24. Cain appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court on Friday, March 28 to answer to bribery charges. He is accused of offering the jury foreman in the Kartel murder trial $500,000 for a not-guilty verdict. It is also alleged that Cain told another juror that he would “take care of him” if he returned a not-guilty verdict as well. Cain was the only juror to vote not guilty in the conviction of Vybz Kartel, Shaw ‘Shawn Storm’ Campbell, Andre St John, and Kahira Jones. A fifth man, Shane Williams, was acquitted. http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/Kartel-juror-returns-to-court-on-April-24
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