CATCHING murderous criminals is a noble deed and I say kudos to our hard-working police officers. However, when those very same bandits somehow are later freed in a court of law, then this constitutes a deadly act.

A deadly act when you view the situation from the point of view of a man being brutally murdered and no justice for his surviving wife and children. Even more distressing is the fact that the police are now open to ridicule because the criminal fraternity is eager to use his acquittal as ammunition against the police. In turn, they and their criminal associates will shout and say that it is the police who are the guilty ones.
Here we have a force eager to pick on “those innocent boys.” They are going to laugh at the police and treat them with scorn and derision. Then, the entire nation comes away feeling sick, violated, shocked and horrified at the blatant facts that this whole idea of crime-fighting is but a sham; a public relations stunt. This is the reality of the whole affair.
I make these harsh remarks with the solid evidence of past cases as my guide. We are so familiar with these matters, the police having to endure the harrowing, near-death experience to bring the criminal in only to have the courts release him as a result of some flimsy excuse. It is a degrading and demoralising thing to see one’s effort go down the drain like that.
The Georgetown terrain permeates with such horror stories. Let me refresh our memories on two such recent cases. One is the two murder accused in the Lusignan case, who were freed due to the illegal acts of a lawyer and a juror and other felons. The other is the ex-soldiers, in the Ministry of Health arson case likewise freed due to some other illegality. Why both lawyer and juror are not serving jail time, in the Lusignan matter, remains a mystery. In other countries this constitutes a criminal act when both parties can knowingly deceive the court to get a felon off a capital offence. From my poor knowledge of court proceedings, these criminals should have felt the full brunt of the law, having committed a criminal act.
Now, I would like the murderers to get a fair trial, but have grave reservations whether this can be achieved, judging from past cases held here in Georgetown. I am very suspicious of the juries taken from Georgetown.
From the foregoing debate I am of the view that this matter should be tried over in the jurisdiction in which the crime was committed. To have this case tried in an urban setting where sentiments are sympathetic towards the felon is simply courting trouble. It is a recipe for disaster. There is no way a court set up in Georgetown can get an impartial jury when it comes to a case of this nature.  Again the call goes out for this matter to be tried in a West Demerara setting where a jury, the makeup – racial or otherwise – is a reflection of the case under review. Anyone who falls short of these high ideals should be dealt with to the full extent of the law.

Guyana is watching this high-profile case. We want to see justice served pure and adulterated as can be. In this regard, I am making the above suggestion which holds the critical clue to the successful prosecution of the murderers.