Full disclosure, I have not done the research to determine whether or not the trial of 33 individuals under the Criminal Justice Suppression of Criminal Organisations) (Amendment) Act is the largest single trial in Jamaica’s history.
However, I believe that it is the largest under this relatively new Act, and though it came late, I commend the authorities for finally moving to pass this legislation.
Frankly, this legislation should have been passed more than three decades ago. We will never know how many lives could have been saved had the authorities moved to end the carnage by passing laws like this that make it clear that violent acts of criminality will not be tolerated.
Even so, the law does not go nearly far enough, particularly when considered against Jamaica’s unique situation of judges that supplant the will of the people and the law with their own views and political feelings as to how violent criminals are to be treated.
Literally every day, we see murderers granted bail, have their sentences shaved by the court of appeals, or overturned altogether by these judges who no one elected, and who strongly believe they should not be questioned.
As someone who stridently lobbied for this legislation, I believe it fell well short of what it should have been as it relates to mandatory ‑minimum sentences for certain categories of violent crimes. It also does not go far enough on truth in sentencing.
The law adopts some of the US Rico statute’s tenets, yet legislators failed to add the necessary teeth that would demonstrate once and for all that the days of wanton murders are indeed over in Jamaica.
Why they failed to add enough teeth to the legislation is anybody’s guess, but this writer will delve deeper into the ‘why’ at a later date.
The trial this time includes these defendants; Andre Bryan, Kevaughn Green, Tomrick Taylor, Damaine Elliston, Kalifa Williams, Daniel McKenzie, Michael Whitely, Pete Miller, Dylon McClean, Dwight Hall, Carl Beech, Lamar Simpson, Donavon Richards, Tareek James, Stephanie Christie, Fabian Johnson, Jahzeel Blake, Roel Taylor, Rushane Williams, Kemar Harrison, Joseph McDermott, Jermaine Robinson, Rivaldo Hylton, Jason Brown, Andre Golding, Marco Miller, Chevoy Evans, Brian Morris, Andre Smith, Dwayne Salmon, Ricardo Thomas, Ted Prince, and Owen Ormsby.
“Kudos” to the members of the security forces that put the work in on behalf of their country; it seems to any careful watcher that despite its inability to shed itself of dirty cops and incompetence, the JCF and affiliate agencies now handling criminal investigations are the only agencies standing between anarchy and the law-abiding Jamaicans.
One of the things that caught my eyes, which comes as no surprise, is the forty (40) criminal defense lawyers representing the 33 accused.
We fully appreciate the need for all defendants accused of crimes to have an appropriate defense. It is that vigorous defense that guarantees that Government does not steamroll ordinary citizens who may be innocent.
But sometimes, it bears noting that the defense representation level and the type of defense lawyers mount on behalf of otherwise seemingly poor, uneducated defendants are circumstantial evidence of the defendant’s guilt.
Jamaica has chosen to build a cottage industry around violent criminality rather than create measures to end it.
From the proliferation of funeral parlors, bands, and of course, the opportunity for rapacious lawyers to fight the system on behalf of criminals, Jamaica is ripe to continue being a paradise for the proliferation and growth of criminal gangs.
We watch with the rest of the world to see what this court does with this case, even as there is a continued cry that judges in the criminal justice system are destroying the rule of law by injecting their own liberal biases into their adjudications.
It is a disgrace and it must end now.
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Mike Beckles is a former Police Detective, businessman, freelance writer, black achiever honoree, and creator of the blog mikebeckles.com.