Garth Rattray
THERE'S BEEN more than the usual verbal traffic over the gruesome and bizarre murder of Trade Board Chairman, Ambassador Peter King. All the talk of a party, of screams in the middle of the night, revealing home-made sex tapes, multiple stab wounds, a slashed throat, the wrapping of the nude body in a sheet and of no evidence of a break in or out, have the public drooling expectantly and buzzing about the likelihood of some sort of salacious activities and a crime of passion. This may make most people feel safe (no one is going to get that passionate over most of us), but other situations may prevail that end in a similar tragedy for any of us.
It's very sad that such a bright, productive and well-liked Jam-aican was brutally murdered; however, every single murder should evoke the same collective horror, outrage and calls for quick and decisive action. It must be remembered that the final decision to commit this particular murder was based on the widespread lack of respect for life that prevails throughout our society. In other words, the various murders over the years have helped set the stage and emboldened Ambassador Peter King's assailant.
RE-INSTITUTE HANGING
Murder is murder no matter why or who gets murdered. Every single murder diminishes the value of all our lives. And, by the way, if the state succumbs to the growing demands from some citizens to re-institute hanging, then that too will send the message that some human (God-given) lives are worthless and that we have a right to end them.
People commit murder (the crime of unlawfully killing a person especially with malice aforethought - Mirriam-Webster) for several reasons, none of which should be rationalised away. People murder others to take their possessions; people murder others out of revenge, retaliation, during the execution of some other crime, while under the influence of psychotropic drugs, while enraged, while consumed by 'passion' or out of jealousy.
Well-appointed, internationally recognised expert on violence, psychiatrist, Dr. Dorothy Otnow-Lewis M.D., spent the last 25 years retrospectively studying the minds of serial killers. She proposed that killers posses a 'constellation of mental and physical problems' that she calls the 'limbic psychotic aggressive syndrome'. This she linked with finding a history of severe head injuries from childhood onwards in more than 80 per cent of killers and a history of childhood abuse at the hands of parents or relatives in 66 per cent of them (which was usually related to the aforementioned head trauma). She also documented that those who witnessed extreme violence (as children) suffered as much as those who actually experienced it. This, she claims, makes those susceptible to violence liable to kill. In other words, we're all at risk.
FUNDAMENTAL DANGERS
Too often we rationalise away murder with statements like, 'it was drug-related', 'they were mixed-up in something', 'they owed people money', 'it was a man and woman thing', 'it was gang-related' or, 'we heard that he was 'funny'. There are three fundamental dangers in trying to compartmentalise murder and in excluding ourselves from the 'at risk' group. Firstly: finding excuses for murder facilitates the act. Secondly: every single murder makes your life less valuable. And, thirdly: murders can be random catastrophic events.
As long as someone is willing to, or capable of murdering anyone, no one is safe. We must safeguard society by publicly denouncing and aggressively investigating every single murder, by protecting our children from violence and abuse and by educating and caring for our underprivileged citizens.
Dr Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice.
