Op-Ed: The Death Penalty in Jamaica

By: - April 17th, 2012

By David Rowe
Op-Ed Contributor

Jamaica currently has one of the highest murder rates in the world.

More people are killed proportionally in Jamaica monthly than are recorded killed in Afghanistan and Iraq in the same period.

The country remains among the 10 nations with the most murders per 100,000 population, according to international data.

While March represented the lowest number of murders in one month in Jamaica since 2003, there were still a total of 69, in a country with a population of under 3 million.

Shootings and beheadings are the current favorite methods of murder. The Kingston Public hospital is unfortunately one of the best hospitals in the world for the treatment of gunshot wounds.

Jamaica appears to be a society turning on itself in a malicious way. Nobody can be totally confident that they will not be the next victim of gunmen.

Jamaica is not a peaceful place. Murderers are, for the most part, escaping from arrest. Some of them are politically connected and gang-related.

Jamaica No Problem! This has developed into an assurance that if you are sufficiently evil and ruthless you can kill anybody in Jamaica without
consequences.

It is almost as dangerous to condemn corruption publicly as it is to be an honest police officer. Many police officers who have stood up to the criminal gangs have either been harmed or run out of the force.

However, too many of Jamaica’s police are forced into corruption by their low wages and limited professional opportunities.

We should invest more in our police officers.

Consistent regular capital punishment for murder will reduce the murder rate.

Some human rights groups may complain, but somebody has to have the political will to put an end to this trend of social self-destruction.

Proper, more sophisticated policing, too, will make a dent in the murder rate.

Until each prospective murderer knows that they are facing the noose of retribution, I believe that mayhem will be the rule rather than the exception.

Neither tourists or investors wish to be shot at.

David P Rowe is an attorney in Florida and Jamaica and a professor of law at the University of Miami School of Law.

Note: the opinions expressed in Caribbean Journal op-eds are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Caribbean Journal.

Jamaica

Op-Ed: The Roots of Jamaica's Brain Drain

By Javed Jaghai Op-Ed Contributor During a speech at Hillel Academy on March 20, Jamaican Minister of Youth and Culture Lisa Hanna, admonished students to resist the urge to migrate to more developed countries. I was amused by the request because she appears to have a very limited understanding of why many young Jamaicans migrate. […]

Jamaica

Ozzie Guillen: Ignorance or Arrogance?

Above: Marlins Park in Miami’s Little Havana By Dr Andy Gomez Op-Ed Contributor For the last couple of weeks, it has been a bit tough for the Cuban-American community in South Florida. First, it was the Pope’s visit to Cuba, when many in the community expected the he would talk about the violations of human […]

Jamaica

Marcia Forbes: Branding Cuba

By Marcia Forbes, PhD CJ Contributor A Country in Transition I first visited Havana, Cuba at the end of the 1980s. It was a country in transition, with the “Cold War’” beginning to thaw. That “war,” driven by mighty rhetoric, political alliances and tensions, was mainly fought on the grounds of ideology — capitalism versus […]

Op-Ed: Fighting Injustice in Jamaica

 By Javed Jaghai and Jaevion Nelson Op-Ed Contributors Jamaicans are known for our vibrancy and assertiveness, but when it comes to social justice and human rights advocacy, we are lackluster at best. An appreciation of human rights and its significance for maintaining a safe, peaceful and orderly society is lacking. Apathy has set in, and […]

Catching Up With Jamaica's Usain Bolt

 Above: Usain Bolt By Alexander Britell Until proven otherwise, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt remains the fastest man on earth, holding the world record in the 100 metres, which he accomplished in Berlin in 2009 with a time of 9.58 seconds (topping his gold medal-winning mark at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing). Bolt, a native of Trelawny, […]

Barbados to Host First Sitting of Caribbean Court of Justice Outside of Trinidad

 By Javed Jaghai and Jaevion Nelson Op-Ed Contributors Jamaicans are known for our vibrancy and assertiveness, but when it comes to social justice and human rights advocacy, we are lackluster at best. An appreciation of human rights and its significance for maintaining a safe, peaceful and orderly society is lacking. Apathy has set in, and […]

On the Ground: Journalism Ethics in Haiti

By Kathie Klarreich A few months into my Knight International Journalism Fellowship in Haiti, I was conducting a training session in a radio newsroom in the capital when a reporter danced through the open door. He proudly announced that he’d just bagged a big contract to run a presidential candidate’s campaign for the upcoming election. […]