Garth Rattray
I DID not intend to comment on the Kraal trial; however, over the Christmas season I visited several households and at some point, vibrant heated debates over the verdict always came up. The trial is over now, but most people seem to feel that although the policemen involved were found not guilty, they were perhaps not innocent.
Even before the case came to trial, I, like just about everyone else, predicted that the accused would be acquitted. Jamaicans expected that, in spite of all the carryings on, all the hullabaloo, all the importation of Scotland Yard investigators, all the talk about planted weapons, all the highfalutin fancy modern ballistic evidence and all the buzz about supposed witnesses, the policemen would get off scot-free (and they did).
When you think about it, this is a frightening pre-trial assumption to make because it speaks volumes about our faith in the system of justice at work in this country.
I would never presume to question the validity of the outcome of the trial. I believe that the jury rendered its verdict based on the strength of the evidence presented and the burden of proof that the prosecution failed to fulfil. This is an atypical case because although people are not convinced that the accused policemen are innocent, given the level of crime and especially the staggering murder rate of 57 per 100,000 population, the majority was glad that Senior Superintendent Reneto Adams and his team walked free.
CONTROVERSIAL WILLIAMS
I have only respect for our judges and I believe that, as a rule, they are very honest, decent and hard-working people. I also have confidence in the honesty of the team of prosecutors. I must confess, however, that everyone had a difficult time understanding the circumstances surrounding the convenient disappearance of a key witness for the prosecution - the very controversial Mr. Danhai Williams.
We are informed by the Attorney-General, Mr. A.J. Nicholson, that the prosecution decided not to force the witness to testify because his reluctance might have endangered the case. Mr. Williams, on the other hand, intimated that he was being asked to lie on the stand and so he refused to appear in court. We may never know the whole truth.
There will always be questionable verdicts. However, what troubles me is the fact that people are blaming corruption for the (not guilty) verdict. Jamaicans see corruption as being so pervasive that they believe that it is the common determining factor for everything from ordinary labour jobs to big government contracts and the dispensation of justice.
Instead of simply defending itself against repeated allegations of impropriety, this government needs to institute far more user-friendly services and a sustained array of sting and undercover operations aimed at thwarting this culture of corruption. In spite of the limited time remaining for his tenure, I wish to petition Prime Minister Patterson to make the elimination of corruption his lasting legacy.
Given the overt lack of faith that people have voiced regarding our system of justice, I find it very strange that so many are calling for the resumption of hanging.
It is incongruous to distrust the system when it comes to finding members of the security forces guilty of murder and then turn right around and trust that very same system to convict regular, usually undereducated, under-socialised and underprivileged people that can't afford multimillion-dollar defence teams of murder and then hang them. We can't have it both ways. Either we trust the system or we don't and since we obviously do not trust the system, we need to do something about it.
Dr. Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice.
