In June of 2016 Minister of National Security Robert Montague made a shocking announcement which ought to have had the nation aghast but the seriousness of his announcement had no measurable effect it seemed.
Minister Montague was arguing for a review of the manner in which bail is granted in murder cases.
In the interest of full disclosure I was not a fan of the Montague appointment to fill the National Security Portfolio and as such, I was less than gracious in my critique of his appointment.
However, it appears that despite his lack of bona fides on crime and security Minister Montague is willing to learn and has demonstrated a commendable predisposition to listen and apply what he has learned to his portfolio.
This writer is pleased that Minister Montague is showing that he is willing to appreciate ideas and ingratiate them into his plan of action for the country.
At the time Montague made the statements he revealed that 134 cases of murder before the courts involved defendants who were granted bail in previous murder matters.
Here at chatt-a-box.com
I continue to sound the alarm at what I see as a major loophole in the justice system which is not only frustrating the efforts of law enforcement but is putting the security of the nation in grave danger.
Montague made a point which I have lamented for years, murderers should not be given bail especially in a hotbed of murder and mayhem like Jamaica.
The idea of granting bail to murder accused is even more shocking when one considers the number of people being killed by murder accused who are out on bail after being charged with murder.
It is important to remember that even as the police are able to say definitively that for the prescribed period 134 people were killed by people granted bail after being charged with … you guessed it murder, we still do not know how many are truly killed because the police really do not know.
Montage talked about the part which angers me most of all “There is an instance where one man was arrested for murder, offered bail, came out, murdered again, this time two times, apprehended, offered bail, came out, murdered again, apprehended, offered bail, took the bail, came out, murdered again, was apprehended, offered bail”.
Jamaican Judges A Large Part Of The Murder Problem/Ask Dexter Pottinger
How in God’s good heaven is this even possible?
Actually, the more important question should be how in God’s good heaven has the legislature allowed this to continue?
The country is inundated with murder, rapes, shootings, violent robberies and other felonies. While the Nation looks to the police for solutions it bears mentioning that the Police can only do so much.
https://mikebeckles.com/if-you-are-jamaican-set-politics-aside-and-think-these-things-through/
♦ Dont look to the Police to fix the murder madness because as soon as the police arrest the murderers the Islands shit for brain criminal loving judges release them on bail time and time and time and time and time and time and time again .…..
♦ Don’t blame the Police when INDECOM, the Justice Ministry, the Public Defender’s office, Elements of the Media want to crucify them when they deal with the murderers as they are forced to.
♦ Don’t blame the police when the liberal elitists’ judges who came out of the left-leaning UWI give them slaps on the wrist despite the heinous nature of the crimes they commit.
♦Don’t for once believe that the best efforts of the police will bear many fruits when they are poorly trained, make a pittance for the risks they take and hardly have the tools required to do the job effectively.
♦ Don’t blame the police when the Legislature refuses to change the old archaic laws and make them more reflective of the needs of today.
♦ Don’t blame the Police when much of the public at large are criminals who throw missiles at police officers who arrest gunmen in their communities.
It’s time we stop with the bull and see our problems for what they are. We have a serious problem of immorality and unless we fix the immorality and the excessive greed for things we cannot afford the shedding of blood will continue until we are all drowned by it.