THE JUDGE in the Janet Douglas murder case was moved to describe the convicted fashion designer as being "vicious and cruel". He was clearly influenced, among other factors, by evidence that the victim had 19 stab wounds.
We make the point to highlight a troubling aspect of the spate of killings which we have described as "murder mania". Of the more than 700 persons reported murdered so far this year more than 500 have been slain by the gun; and in many cases the victims have been killed by a barrage of gunshots.
Killers, it seems, are often motivated by viciousness; where one gunshot might have sufficed, a barrage is let loose. The type of weapon, such as a sub-machine-gun capable of continuous fire, may be a reason; but the rage of reprisal or simply murderous intent is surely a primary factor.
To the extent that rage is uppermost it points to a declining sense of the value of life especially in the more fragile sectors of the society. These include urban ghettos where life is cheap in a material and moral sense. The rage to kill may also be provoked in rural farmers transformed into vigilante mobs when they catch thieves raiding their crops and livestock.
This rage, it appears, can mutate. In last Saturday's Gleaner we reported the bizarre mass killing of 35 dogs in Lime Hall, St Ann, by means of poisoned food; this amid speculation that it was in reprisal for the loss of chickens and goats. While we share the distress of the JSPCA, the killing of people is the more frightening concern. There are unfeeling savages roaming at large who kill without compunction.
The scale of the killings is a great dilemma. The Douglas murder case which happened in November 2000 was disposed of only last week. In one week of this year's 700-odd murder toll 49 victims have been counted. Assuming that all 49 cases could be cleared up by the police, what are the prospects that the criminal justice system can process these cases any time soon?
We have welcomed the private sector initiative to galvanise political action in tackling the crime wave. The ultimate objective must be to fashion a multi-pronged assault on the problem, ranging from petty crime to the corruption of drug-trafficking; from the convolutions of garrison politics to sophisticated greed. Therein may lie the roots of rage which make some people kill people. Social intervention in alliance with political action most follow all the talks to halt the slide to anarchy.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
