IF allowed to go un-noticed and unchecked, the recent acts by members of communities in beating or killing persons accused of involvement in criminal activities could wreak mayhem in the society. A society is designed to be governed by laws, and such laws are not to be observed only by some, because they are there to protect the rights of every citizen, regardless of the circumstance.
Any individual who is accused of, or known to be involved in, criminal activities must be charged by the police and brought before the court. The court in a law-abiding society is the institution that determines guilt and prescribes penalties consistent with the statues. However tempting the urge to seek ‘justice’ at one’s own hands, laws are not being driven or interpreted by feelings.
The upsurge in vigilante justice has its genesis in persons and groups supporting the execution of some by the death and phantom squads during the crime spree of 2002-2006. Casualties also involved known innocent persons going about their daily business and eking out a livelihood. One such instance was Rodwell Ogle, a young food vendor of Rasville, who in 2002 was shot and killed by the infamous Axel Williams for $20 which was due to him for the food Williams had bought.
The failure to activate the Coroner’s Act to determine the cause of death of those killed at the hands of vigilante justice and hold the responsible accountable emboldened others to think that they, too, could commit similar acts and get away with them. Following that infamous period, a number of citizens have resorted to pulling their firearms and shooting persons whom they alleged were in the process of trying to kill or rob them. Many of these persons were not charged, neither was any inquest held; which represented another flagrant violation of the law. Rather than activating the legal systems to bring about closure to these shootings, the Police Force, as an institution, not only determined guilt but also the circumstance that led to the cause of death in many of the cases.
The prevalence with which vigilante justice has occurred within recent days has caused President David Granger to speak out and make his position known:- that such acts have no place in the society. Only after the President went public with his position did the Police Force moved to assure the society that perpetrators are being, and will be, sought after.
While the President has made known his position on the matter and assurance has come from the Police, the latter being paid to serve and protect the citizens, much more is needed to bring about the necessary change in behaviour.
Where the view is held that if one considers an act committed against him/her illegal, he/she shall respond in similar manner against the individual as a point of securing justice, such view needs to be disabused. Justice is for the court to determine, and thinking otherwise requires a level of training not only acquired in the classrooms but also in the community.
Persons perceived as criminals or shady characters are products of the society, and cannot be left to determine the values for society. Consequently, it may require the development of programmes to help those who may have committed offences, found guilty in the court and were incarcerated to be reintegrated into the community from which they came. In similar manner, programmes need to be put in place, not only to stymie but to help others from moving into a life where crime is seen as the preferred choice.
The society needs role models. It needs leaders at all levels — be it in government or non-government — that the people can look up to, emulate their behavior, and want to live like them. If this society continues to be one where the privileged can break the laws, in instances such as the abuse of the State’s property/resources, giving preferential treatment to drug-pushers, taking bribes, and covering up of criminal activities, what such persons will be helping to do is defeat the values the society yearns to have and uphold.
Stamping out vigilante justice requires the collective to work towards bringing it to an end. Any failure to pursue this avenue risks every facet of society becoming engulfed, and the innocent paying for the guilty. It cannot be over-emphasized that the responsibility for dispensing with justice continues to be vested in the court of the land and such must be held sacred at all times.
