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“Logic, if you followed me so far, would dictate that there are two main barriers to implementing hanging: an abysmally low detection rate by any standards; and an inefficient judicial system which appears designed for lawyers to make more money by using delay tactics…”
The following Letter to the Editor on the use of hanging to stem the murder rate was submitted to Wired868 by Mohan Ramcharan of Birmingham, UK:
(Copyright Morningstaronline.co.uk)
Not for the first time, and likely not the last either, I take to my keyboard to ask the question, “Where did the hangman go?”
This in response to the usual call “Bring back hangman” made by writers of several letters to the editor:
- Arnold Gopeesingh, Newsday 20 Oct 2018
- Dr Waffie Mohammed (and other Muslim leaders), Guardian 3 October 2010
- Father Ian Taylor, Newsday 12 June 2018
- G A Marques, Guardian 8 October 2016
- Jay G Rakhar, Newsday 3 May 2019
Late former Prime Minister Patrick Manning: You see, among the ignorant, there is a perception that hanging was banned in the land of ‘milk and honey’.
Plain and simple, the sentence for murder is death, still contained within section 4 of the Offences Against the Person Act Chapter 11.08 1979 (as amended). Why the baying for blood is not an answer to the crime tsunami is another tale altogether.
First, the true statistics for crime detection will probably shock citizens. For murder and serious crimes, the detection rate of 20% quoted by law enforcement—appallingly low on a world stage—is entirely wrong. The USA has put it at 6%. The actual figure is 3.65%, calculated over the last 10 years.
(Copyright Ministry of National Security)
Mind you, this is just the detection rate. The conviction rate is 1% of the detection rate, which is—for those mathematically minded—0.0365%. Startling, isn’t it?
Some years ago, when I pointed out this statistic, the police service immediately remove access by the public to its statistics page, from where I had obtained the figures I worked with for my calculation. Access has not yet been allowed to date.
Then there is the reality of the slow pace which a criminal matter winds its way through the court system, described by international criminal lawyer Ula Nathai-Lutchman, as ‘slower than molasses’. Hence, matters are not resolved within the 5-year limit set by the Pratt and Morgan judgment.
Logic, if you followed me so far, would dictate that there are two main barriers to implementing hanging: an abysmally low detection rate by any standards; and an inefficient judicial system which appears designed for lawyers to make more money by using delay tactics.
As for Jay Rakhar’s assertion: “The death penalty […] has proven time and again that it has the potential to be a deterrent, having the chilling effect that those who commit murder will be executed.”
Well, a simple Google search blows that argument clear out of the water.
“[…] The 10 years under the Dr Keith Rowley-led PNM saw a vicious attack on the trade union movement and Read more
“[…] Most carnival costumes (beads, bikinis, feathers, clothes, uniforms, caps, wire bending, etc) are now manufactured in China at reasonable costs—transport Read more
“[…] When police officers disobey direct orders from superiors to wear body cameras, it is a serious breach of protocol Read more
“[…] Trinidad and Tobago now joins the United Arab Emirates and Canada as the only countries in the world with Read more
“[…] Justice Adrian Saunders’ judgments were measured, never strident, insistent on faithfulness to principle, penetrating in their insights, and always Read more
“[…] Governments come and go, and with them their pet projects, regardless of whether those initiatives were making a difference. Read more
Mohan Ramcharan is a Trinidadian living in England, an LLB (Hons) law graduate, systems thinking practitioner, and critical thinker. He is a product of two cultures and strives to be ethical and impartial in his thoughts and actions.
Mr Ramcharan..
The problem with your article is that it uses something called reasoning and logic, and also you want to use something called facts.
85 percent of the human population have something called faith. They ” believe ” in something which could be described as ” jumbies “.
With such basic programming at their core, it is impossible to expect that your reasoning will be accepted.