Vernon Daley

It seems every few weeks I find myself writing about the death penalty. I don't have any special interest in the subject; it's just that the matter keeps turning up in public discussions as the society gropes in desperation for a solution to this growing problem of murders.

The latest chapter in the ongoing debate was supplied by The Sunday Gleaner, which informed readers that there has been an increase in the number of Jamaicans supporting the resumption of hanging.

The newspaper report was based on the findings of a recent Bill Johnson poll showing that 79 per cent of Jamaicans want to see the hangman pressed into service, compared to the 77 per cent who supported hanging in 2006 - the last time such a poll was done. We are also told that some 43 per cent of those who favour hanging are prepared to have a few innocent necks popped in the process of dishing out justice to killers.

No doubt, they feel that the good must suffer with the bad. It's a cute phrase that's often used when people have no expectation that they or those they know and love could be numbered among the innocent.

It's frightening that people would have such a callous approach to human life, but it's entirely understandable. People are at the end of their line in dealing with the growing murders and the call for hanging is really a call born out of frustration with what seems a hopeless situation. With each passing day, the murder figures go up and people are left to wonder if today is their day.

Sanctity of life

Executive director of Jamaicans For Justice, Dr Carolyn Gomes, is perfectly correct that a great deal more will have to be done in sensitising Jamaicans about human rights and the sanctity of life, but that task is made doubly hard when everywhere around us the bloodletting continues with no end in sight.

Any moment now, we can expect to hear Derrick Smith and other members of the Government jumping on these new poll findings and promising to ensure that hanging is resumed as quickly as possible.

Politicians, surely, have to do some pandering to their constituents but it would be a great tragedy if they promoted and reinforced the false idea in people's head that resuming hanging is going to help in reducing crime.

I've argued repeatedly that there is no basis for holding that view given the anecdotal and other evidence we have about the operation of the police in many of the toughest communities across the island. The police have always broken their fair share of necks out in the streets without the assistance of a jury.

There can be no doubt that extrajudicial killings are much more efficient than hangings. They are less costly and less time-consuming. The trouble is that they have not solved the crime problem and, therefore, there is no good reason for thinking that hanging would produce any better results.

The irony of it all

In the wake of the Cuba light-bulb controversy, there has been a lot of talk about the role of accounting and accountable officers in standing up to politicians who might want to do things that violate government guidelines and procedures. There have rightly been calls for senior civil servants to demonstrate independence and resist the pressures of political leaders.

I wonder, though, how much independence we can really expect from these people if the very body that appoints them can be cited for misbehaviour if it goes against the will of the prime minister.