On occasion, misery will be visited upon the innocent.
There are times when the brutish actions of some do appall neighbours, family and friends.
Such a time has come for those of us who live and work in today’s troubled Bahamas.
For some, the times are dreadful.
For some others tragedy mingled with evil stalk the land.
For whatever reason, some one or the other dared drink of this witches brew. As a consequence, an infant girl-child is allegedly murdered.
In the immediate aftermath of this fact, many Bahamians – some of them clergy – rush to judgment. As they do, there is an accompanying drumbeat of comment calling for the blood of the person who has done the nasty dead.
Like others who have already weighed in with their ‘take’ on this grisly matter concerning the way an infant Bahamian child’s short life was brought to an end, we are saddened beyond words.
Indeed, if ever there was a time when words are powerless, such a time is now.
But even as we are minded to tell our own story concerning how hurt we were when we got the news, we are today reminded of our duty to the people in times like these.
That duty – as we see it – has to do not only with speaking truth to power; but for us to counsel and caution all who would allow emotion to get in the way of reason.
In other words, we must do all we can to go beyond easy outrage.
Indeed, ‘reason’ – as we understand the term – is today especially needed by those good and true Bahamians who are called upon to help maintain order.
Evidently, wherever disorder abounds, scant space for justice and civilized deliberation remain.
Indeed, some who conflate punishment with justice are calling on the relevant authorities to do what they should without further delay.
In other words, whoever did the deed should be charged and then and thereafter punished.
One very angry person went so far as to suggest that lynching would be too good in such circumstances.
We can not and will not – ever – condone such barbarism.
Sadly, very many other Bahamians think that such a gruesome punishment [itself a relic and icon of cruelty] should be talked about in such a cavalier manner.
Very many Bahamians could care less, so long as they are given the opportunity to ventilate their spleen.
Just as evident is the fact that few of these people have the time of day for anyone who wishes to introduce ideas such as the need for the rule of law
These types would also have none of any speech that dares to even introduce [or suggest] the idea that someone who has committed a grievously nasty offence – as in other similar cases – could actually be found not guilty, by reason of insanity.
A part of the reason for this kind of attitude on the part of so very many Bahamians has to do with the fact that many people have little to no appreciation for the reality of mental illness.
Other Bahamians have quite a limited conception of human rights and what these imply for the lives of all human beings, inclusive of those charged with serious offences like rape and murder.
There are also many Bahamians who do believe that justice and punishment can and should be conflated.
That is why some of these people argue for ghastly punishments such as castration in the case of rape. Some others routinely call for capital punishment.
Interestingly enough, time elapsed between grisly event and trial very often does wonders memory is effaced in the welter of events that come with the sheer routine of daily life.
Time elapsed also gives those who are called upon to deal with these matters in a legal, mature and civilized time enough and space enough to go about their work.
Here we reference the work that –in the circumstances- must be done if justice is seen to have been done. Some who must play their part are people who are called upon to assist the Court as regards the mental health of the accused, thus a role for medical personnel.
There is work to be done by lawyers for the defense and the prosecution.
Hanging in the balances – then – is not merely the fate of one person, but the integrity of the system itself.
There is much that is at stake if and when a person who is in the protective custody of the state comes to any grief, hurt or harm.
