Delroy Chuck
THE PRESENT administration responds to the nation's problems with meaningless talk, deceptive public relations, and endless legislation. Where good sense, exemplary conduct and decisive action are the main tools to build a good society, this government has substituted an unending stream of words to explain its failure, inaction or inability to govern well, which further explains why it takes no responsibility for anything that goes wrong.
Capital punishment cannot be enforced, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, the Hon. A.J. Nicholson, would have us believe, because the Opposition will not help the government to overturn two Privy Council decisions that, he alleges, makes it difficult to carry out hanging. Well, get real, Mr. Nicholson, you are wrong, again. The Opposition has not delayed hanging, it is the incompetence and gutlessness of your government. From 1988, when the last set of hangings occurred, not one single death warrant has been successfully imposed on convicted murderers. In fact, Mr. Nicholson, under your watch, has even one death warrant been issued in pursuance of the sentence of the court? If not, how can you anticipate and declare failure when you have not even tried to succeed?
In his contribution to The Sunday Gleaner, May 29, 2005, 'Capital Punishment Get Real, Derrick', Mr. Nicholson misled the nation as to the reasons for the prolonged delay to resume hanging. He blames the possible legal processes that the convicted man has, while giving the impression that the government's hands are tied and can do nothing to expedite the whole process, which is not true. The Privy Council actually anticipated and made provisions for the frivolous constitutional challenges and human rights commitments. Derrick Smith has been consistent. From 1990, as Opposition Spokesman on National Security, he has demanded, sometimes embarrassingly repetitious, the resumption of hanging.
From as far back as 1992 I stated publicly that hanging would not resume under this administration, as, I argued then and repeatedly, this government lacks the persistence, perseverance and perspicacity to impose hanging. In truth, I really believe the administration would be very happy if the problem would just go away.
What is Mr. Nicholson asking of the Opposition? Is it that condemned men should remain longer than the stipulated five years to pursue their legal remedies for 10, maybe 20, years while enjoying the high security and special treatment accorded to convicted murderers? In Pratt and Morgan, the Privy Council ruled that it was cruel and unusual punishment for convicted murderers to remain on death row for longer than five years, where the prolonged delay was due primarily to the fault of the state in prosecuting the case to completion. In that case, the men were on death row for almost 14 years due to the fault of the judicial process to deliver the judgments in a timely manner.
THE RILEY CASE
The Privy Council, by a unanimous decision of seven law lords in Pratt and Morgan, overruled the 1983 case of Riley, which held, by a majority of three to two law lords, that execution after prolonged delay was not unconstitutional. In 1983 I disagreed with the majority and found the reasoning of the minority more persuasive and reasonable, and was therefore delighted that in Pratt and Morgan, the minority's views were upheld. In essence, the constitutional provision for a fair hearing within a reasonable time dictates that the execution of a sentence within a reasonable time should also be read as a constitutional provision, which is just what the Privy Council did in Pratt and Morgan.
Mr. Nicholson would have us change our constitution like Barbados, to what effect? In spite of the constitutional change, has Barbados hanged anyone? And, how other countries, like Trinidad, without any constitutional change, have successfully hanged convicted murderers. Further, Mr. Nicholson, how come your government, almost 10 years ago, withdrew from the U.N. Optional Protocol on Human Rights as a prelude to the immediate resumption of hanging?
In reality, this government has not demonstrated its respect for the rule of law by effectively enforcing the law, which explains why the many laws, recently passed, prohibiting the possession of knives, the littering of gullies and streets, the roaming of animals on the road, the loud and unbearable night noises, the political graffiti on walls for example, in Grants Pen, etc. have been breached with impunity. So, Mr. Nicholson, it is not the two Privy Council decisions that are at fault, it is your government's spinelessness in the enforcement of the law.
Delroy Chuck is an attorney-at-law and Opposition Member of Parliament. He can be contacted by email at delchuck@hotmail.com.
