THE EDITOR, Sir:
I HAD the honour to be a speaker at a recent assembly of members of the Jamaica Police Federation. I stated that these are desperate times in Jamaica, therefore it is justified to use desperate measures to combat violent crime in this country. While my thoughts were primarily a result of the valiant officers that lost their lives at the hands of the barbaric few of society, I must confess the following. My eyes have tears and my heart is just as heavy when I hear of people losing their lives as a result of criminal acts. The murder of a police officer is never justified, but when a member of society that has no involvement with drugs, or weapons smuggling, or gang warfare, is killed, especially little children, the acts are nothing more than savage in nature.
As a career law officer in my country, I do what I can to prevent crime. When this fails, then apprehension of the guilty is in place. It does not stop once the apprehension is accomplished. The penalty phase must take over. Then we have to think of the risks that correctional officers take to ensure the custody and control of long-term convicts. I am not against the death penalty for certain violent crimes. Hanging is not my favourite choice. I prefer lethal injection for those who act in such a way that society has a right to demand their removal from its midst. In my studies of career criminals, I have found that many, even though locked up, still can be violent and try to maintain some degree of criminal control in and out of a detention facility.
BOTTOM LINE
The bottom line is this. Whatever has been done over the past several years is failing. Crimes of a violent nature are high. If gangsters want to kill one another, maybe that's OK; saves the taxpayers lots of money. But the innocent bystander, the non-participant, the cop that responds to these situations must be factored into the equation.
I had relatively close contacts with two convicts that were on death row in my state. One was executed for a brutal murder. The other died prior to his execution date, thus cheating the system that sentenced him. I have never heard of someone that was executed either by hanging or any other means, committing another violent crime. Need I say more?
Let's not fret over the concerns of the murderers, but be compassionate about the innocent victims, and the friends and family they left behind. Let's not leave this topic 'hanging' in the halls of bureaucratic debate. If the violent criminals are small in number, then let's eradicate the problem quickly.
By prolonging fair and swift justice, we are punishing the masses for the acts of the few. My prayers are with all police officers that place themselves in harm's way for us, and also to the survivors of the innocent victims.
I am, etc.,
RUSSELL A. HICKMON
Cmdrf5-jam@emoquad.com
