THE EDITOR, Sir:
I READ Neville Malcolm's letter published in The Gleaner of April 14, 2001 with trepidation. I would invite him to read the Letter of the Day written by Kenneth Reeves from Atlanta published along with his. With respect, Mr. Malcolm seems to be missing the point. Murder by the State does not compensate for murder by criminals in the State. Jamaica may never know if the police are telling the truth about the alleged shoot-out.
Sadly, history informs us that the police do not always tell the truth about such things. That is not to say that there are not honest policemen who are of high integrity. The police cannot in a civilised country just arbitrarily kill persons suspected of crime and thereafter take little step to preserve the scene of crime. You ask: "Who is of more importance to the society: the seven men killed or the school teacher"? The answer is that all of those lives were equally important. The principal for obvious reasons, those young men represented the future of Jamaica, suspected criminals or not, and whether some of us like it or not. To be a suspect of crime is not the same as being a criminal.
The police can now say all manner of evil about these young men because dead men tell no tales. There is such a thing as due process to which civilised States that subscribe to the rule of law adhere. Mr. Malcolm and those who share his views should remember that the police have for a very long time been shooting 'criminals' in the name of crime-fighting and the level of crime has increased over the years.
Perhaps a more intelligent approach is now needed. Jamaicans should indeed wake up to some of the dubious practices being carried in their name in the name of crime-fighting. If Mr. Malcolm were to commit a murder, the State would prosecute him (if the police doesn't shoot him), but prosecuting the State for murder is almost impossible.
I am etc.,
SEYMOUR STEWART
E-mail:
seymour_stewart@hotmail.com
Via Go-Jamaica
