Punishment or revenge?
20th November 2008
Some time this week a decision will be taken in Parliament as a conscience vote on whether to continue the death penalty. This is not the first time that a vote of this kind is being carried out, because a similar divisional vote was taken in 1979. Of interest, on that occasion Michael Manley as prime minister voted against the death penalty while his brother Dr Douglas Manley, then minister of health, voted for it. Of further interest, then Opposition leader Edward Seaga was absent from the House when the vote was taken.
According to opinion polls, the majority of people in Jamaica want the death penalty law for convicted murderers to be enforced, more so since the recent spate of abductions, rapes and murders. I am not for the death penalty, which makes me a part of the minority. No one can accuse me of "playing to the gallery" on this issue, but then again, it is not my habit to do that. My main problem with the decision is the irreversibility of the execution once it has been carried out.
Too many people, it seems, have been convicted in Jamaica for crimes which they did not commit. Apart from the minority in the police force who are guilty of excesses, it is the unfortunate truth that the competence of the police is judged by many in authority by how many people are taken before the courts. And when it happens that no one has committed an offence, some police personnel will go out and falsely arrest someone. Suppose such a person gets the death penalty!
If someone is wrongfully imprisoned and the mistake is found out, there can be compensation. But what kind of compensation is there for the person sentenced to die? Which one of those who shout, "Hang them high" would like to be wrongly convicted? I know that I certainly would not. Yes, it is natural to want to avenge yourself for the loss of a loved one. I do not claim to feel any different when anyone I knew died violently.
But on those occasions when I feel that way, the thing to do is not to say, "Oh, so now that you feel what we feel you have changed your position." The thing to do is to help to restore me to the path of righteousness and away from the sin of revenge. But many are not concerned about punishment, but revenge. Again, I do not claim to have any different feelings from you because I too am human.
But aren't we continuing the culture of death, if we kill people (who kill) to show that killing is wrong? Many so-called Christians need to know that Jesus Christ said, "I have come so that you might have life more abundantly" (John 10:10).
Many so-called Christians quote the Old Testament about putting the murderer to death.But the Old Testament also said that the adulterers, the fornicators and the homosexuals should be put to death.
In the New Testament, however, when the woman caught in adultery was taken before Jesus, He said, "He that is without sin cast the first stone." And no one did. About a month ago, a prominent minister of religion - prominent not because of any achievement but because of a disproportionate amount of media publicity that he has received - said that any Christian who was against the death penalty was a dunce.
And since he does not think that he is a dunce, he should have read those New Testament passages, but apparently he has not. What surprised me about the "dunce" remark is not so much the offensiveness of the statement, but because I never at any time regarded that particular minister as being too bright. But I too have made a remark about people being dunces. Many in the media mis-educated our people about many aspects of our history.
One such instance was the false statement that the present toll roads are a first for Jamaica. I figured that the only way I could get them to stop that (the first toll roads in Jamaica were abolished in 1859) was to call them "history dunces". My concern is always the students who are taking exams and always trust the media to be accurate in terms of information.
So to those who seek to remind me of that, at least I give the context of why I did it and I will do it again if necessary.
Jamaica has had serious crime for a long time, but the spate of abductions is a relatively new feature in Jamaica. I cannot tell exactly what is the root of it, but it is evil. In the circumstances, we have to protect the "girl children". It is equally imperative to advise against cross-dressing as in the present circumstances it is foolhardy because it sets the boys up for rape. Older male youth who dress themselves as the majority of women do might be able to defend themselves, but that might be difficult if they are overpowered by many. I hold the view that it starts with the image of self.
So what do you believe in, punishment or revenge? Emotionally, I think of revenge and am in need of prayer to overcome that. Objectively, I am for punishment. Please pray for me, as I will for you that one day my emotions will fully synchronise with my objectivity.
Source: Jamaica Observer