JAMAICANS WANT an independent inquiry into the police killing of seven young men in Braeton, St. Catherine, on March 14, according to the findings of a Gleaner-commissioned poll.
Fifty-three per cent of those interviewed in the April 27 to 30 poll supported that call for an inquiry to determine the circumstances surrounding the shootings.
The poll was conducted by Don Anderson and his team from Market Research Services Ltd. across the island's 14 parishes. One thousand persons were interviewed and the poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 per cent.
Several organisations, including the United Church of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, had called on the P.J. Patterson-led Government to launch an independent inquiry into the case of the Braeton Seven. However, the Government has opted for the route of a Coroner's Inquest which is yet to begin because of ongoing investigations into the shootings.
Mr. Anderson, in his analysis of the results, said that support for an independent inquiry was strongest among upper income respondents and persons from rural districts, "but it was a view that was held by persons across the demographic spectrum".
He pointed out that despite the strong support for the setting up of an independent inquiry into the Braeton shootings, "there was nonetheless clear opposition to this inquiry as close to 45 per cent did not feel that such an investigation was necessary or likely to prove anything."
TOMORROW: Jamaicans give their verdict on the action of Amnesty International.
