A major cause for the rise in criminal activity in our country and the wider Caribbean is the actions of those in the legal system. You just have to take a look at some of the decisions taken in our court rooms and you will see what I am talking about. Take for example the Jupiter case a few weeks ago. This criminal has a rap sheet as long as a shopping list all of which he was freed, I repeat freed of in a court of law. I’d be damned that for one of those crimes he should have been found guilty but that was not to be. He walked free on all counts; this is Guyana beautiful Guyana.
Another case which shows glaring contempt for the law and little regard for human life is the ruling in the Dairy Bar robbery and murder trial of Seon Yaw. The judge blatantly disregarded the eyewitness account of that young lady who knew the assailant from childhood and who could have identified him from the birthmark scar over his right eye. Instead the judge kept harping on the technicality of the difference in height contending that the accused is actually 5 ft 10 ins a mere difference of 7 ins to the height given by the witness. He then instructed the jury that this was a case of mistaken identity and to return a verdict of not guilty. Seon Yaw is now a free man free to recommence his criminal activity. Recently another judge released a number of criminals back into society. Her reason being the technicality of someone being locked up for five years without a trial. My take on that is let the matter go to a jury with whatever information you have and let them decide I can guarantee that learned judge that they would not have been freed men today.
I am taking keen interest in the Uncle Eddie’s Home robbery/murder case of those youths of the Tucville squatting area. Things have been dragging on for sometime now which seems like this case might be heading for another technicality. There is no technicality from the standpoint of anyone having common sense. For the mere record the stolen loot from the home was found in those guys’ possession from the very scene where that security guard was brutally raped and killed. I would only hope that this magistrate would not be so ridiculously shameless as to conclude that it was a situation of robbery and not one of robbery and murder we look forward to the upcoming verdict.
I am no legal expert, though my friends say I am, but I am very much cognisant of the fact that some of those who occupy the bench are contributing to criminality in our country and the Home Affairs Ministry needs to do something about it.