Hang them high, high. high and then some
By Dr. Kwame Nantambu
September 07, 2010
In normal, civilized and sane times, one can postulate a solid, airtight defence against the imposition of the death penalty for murder. No problem.
However, times, albeit living conditions, in T&T are abnormal, uncivilized and insane to the nth degree; ergo, any defence against the death penalty under these current circumstances is not only absolutely null and void but also totally immaterial and irrelevant.
This is the sad situation of life, safety and property in T&T today. The stark reality is that the life of a human being in T&T is virtually and literally useless, worthless and valueless. Human beings are been killed just as chickens are decapitated/beheaded and their throats slit.
The murder toll now stands at 338 and counting. As the Mighty Sparrow once quipped:
"This is madness
Total madness
What's wrong with my country? Lord
Tell me, I would like to know."
The fact of the matter is that while there is widespread debate and differences in regard to the imposition of the death penalty for all murders, this article seeks to provide a legal and professional solution.
The stark reality is that both criminals and/or murderers must realize that if they do the crime, then, they will do the punishment and that punishment is the death penalty... plain and simple.
The message to all criminals and murderers from We the People of T&T is very simple: How you kill is how you will die/hang, period.
By way of elucidation, if a criminal commits what this writer calls a civilized murder, then, he will receive a civilized hanging.
In other words, if for example, a criminal shoots and kills a business owner during a robbery that went bad or shoots and kills a home owner in a similar situation, etc., these are civilized murders. They are still murders now... let's be very clear.
Ergo, upon conviction, the hangman would hang this criminal in the usual manner: noose around his neck until he expires.
However, if for example, a criminal slits the throat of another human being, beheads/decapitates another human being, rapes and then kills an innocent child, shoots and kills another human being during gang warfare, chops and kills another human being to death, etc., then, these are brutal, uncivilized, savage, barbaric murders that deserve similar hanging. These murders are totally different from the afore-mentioned civilized murders. Let's keep it simple and plain.
Here, the sole issue is to suit the nature of the punishment (hanging) with the nature of the crime, that is, murder of another human being.
Ergo, upon conviction, in the case of uncivilized murders, the hangman must be provided with the necessary technology to squeeze the noose around the criminal's neck to the same brutal extent/degree of savage, inhuman pain and suffering that the murderer did to his victim--- plain and simple. This is not "an eye for an eye or a tooth for a tooth" but plain, equal human justice at play in T&T.
In this way, the brutal hangman's punishment fits the brutal crime. Criminals will then face this reality check: How you kill will determine how you die/hang.
Put another way, if a criminal kills in a civilized manner, then, he will be hanged in a civilized manner but if he kills in a brutal, savage, uncivilized manner, then, he will be hanged accordingly. Bottom-line: Kill and you will die in T&T, period. Message from We the People to criminals: Pick your method/poison how to die/hang when you kill in T&T.
In other words, whatever pain the criminal/murderer inflicts on his victim, the hangman will return the favour via the noose.
The fact of the matter is that if criminals are "afraid to die", then, DO NOT KILL--- plain and simple. This is not rocket science or advanced calculus--- kill and you will die/hang in T&T. Simple as that!
There is absolutely no question/doubt in this writer's mind that hanging will be the most potent deterrent to murders in T&T and if T&T has to withdraw from international organizations as a result of this action, then, that's the price to be paid for freedom in this country. What's the problem?
The time for excuses are long gone. The criminals have been laughing and overtly ignoring previous governments and their lame crime-fighting policies. Now is the crucial, life- saving time for the People's Partnership government to bite the bullet and let the criminals/murders bite the hangman's noose in the process.
Mammaguy, pappyshow and congosa crime policies of the past are just that--- of the past. The People's Partnership government must smell the crime/murder coffee and act decisively. We the People demand and expect no more and certainly, no less.
Indeed, let the record reveal that the average citizen is not only the only entity in favour of the imposition of the death penalty but religious groups, pastors, you name them are also casting their "yes" vote on this thorny issue. The introduction of hanging for all murders in T&T should not be stretched out to be a divisive issue; on the contrary, it must be used as the much-needed mechanism to unify all Trinbagonians under one flag--- the flag of safety, security and sanity for all. Divisiveness among citizens only serves to embolden the criminals/murderers- that's a no, no.
In the final analysis, hang them high, high, high and then some because in these unsavoury times of wanton lawlessness, mayhem, and downright savagery/cannibalism in T&T, the sky is not the limit. So "criminals beware, all yuh got to hear; murderers beware, this year all yuh got to hear": when you kill, the hangman's noose is what you will see and feel, period. "The choice is yours"--- Kill and you will hang in T&T--- civilized or uncivilized.
Dr. Kwame Nantambu is a part-time lecturer at Cipriani College of Labour and Co-operative Studies and University of the West Indies.
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