Kennedy MP seeks debate on hanging:
http://www.thenassauguardian.com/national_local/347575308611377.php

..."By KRYSTEL ROLLE, NG Staff Reporter, krystel@nasguard.com


Suggesting that Bahamians want the death penalty to be enforced, Kennedy MP Kenyatta Gibson urged the government to cause a debate on the resolution for capital punishment "as soon as possible".

"The Bahamian people want the resumption of capital punishment. The high proportion of senseless murders makes them cry out for justice. They not only want justice when the young woman from Jackson Street is raped, they want justice when their brother from Alexandra Boulevard is assaulted in a grievous manner. And they want justice when their son from Red Land Acres is senselessly slaughtered," said Gibson.

He made this plea during the budget debate in the House of Assembly last night.

He is one of many who have called for the enforcement of the death penalty in less than a week.

On Labor Day the family and friends of Khodee Davis -- the 16-year-old who was stabbed to death during the Whit Monday holiday -- organized a pro-capital punishment March.

Community Activist Rodney Moncur, the cousin of Davis, said the march, which lasted about five hours was designed to demonstrate to the political leadership how serious they were about the issue of capital punishment.

"The supporters of Khodee Davis are right," said Gibson as he contributed to the debate. "Enough is enough. And if hanging the filthy animal who murdered that young man doesn't deter another criminal from committing that crime in the future, at the very least that beast will not be around to kill again. Some how the law abiding citizens of this country need an equalizer. We in this place can be that equalizer for them," he said.

Gibson continued: "It is for that reason that I now ask the government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas to cause a debate on a resolution as regards to the continued need for capital punishment in The Bahamas to take place in this Parliament as soon as is possible. Further I would ask that both sides of this House, both government and opposition, remove the party whip from their membership as regards this issue and allow members to vote on their conscience after consultation with their constituents."

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham indicated that the government would do all it could to ensure the resumption of capital punishment.

Acknowledging that nothing had been done to address the March 2006 Privy Council ruling, which found that the mandatory death sentence was "unconstitutional", Ingraham said the government would do its "utmost to have these legal obstacles determined in the shortest possible time".

Meantime, Gibson said he could see no reason why the Court of Appeal should not be the final court of appeal for criminal matters in the jurisdiction. "The Privy Council's civil jurisdiction may be useful for the near future, but at some point independent and sovereign states such as ours will have to take the bull by the horns to embrace even this task. It's the principle of it. Sovereign nations must develop respect, reverence and acceptance of the judicial capacity, intellect and adjudication of its home grown jurist."

He added that anything else would amount to an unpardonable insult and assault against the Bahamians ancestors in the long term."...

Fix the system first. When it takes almost 10 years to hear a murder case I don't really care if the death penalty is on the table or not...No case should take more than six months to be heard.

Fix the system first. When it takes almost 10 years to hear a murder case I don't really care if the death penalty is on the table or not...No case should take more than six months to be heard.
Agreed. As the saying goes “Justice should not only be done but seen to be done.” Ten years is too long, people loose site of it.

Agreed. As the saying goes “Justice should not only be done but seen to be done.” Ten years is too long, people loose site of it.
Its almost like a placebo to give the people instead of the real cure.

If Capital Punishment is re-instated all you'll hear is:

When my son killer gone be hang
When he get tried and convicted

When dat gone happen
In about 10 to 15 years

Where the killer is now
At his mummy house

smt

The problem is our legal system takes ten years to do what could be done in one or two. I am not suggesting we should rush the legal system and do people out of their right to appeal. But things could be done quicker.

Murder cases should be put to the front of the line and tried as quickly as possible. The courts should not allow the lawyers to ask for and get numerous adjournments. Once a person is found guilty and exhausted all his appeals he should be hung within thirty days.

Honestly, I don't trust the Bahamian justice system enough for Capital Punishment to be an option...

Honestly, I don't trust the Bahamian justice system enough for Capital Punishment to be an option...
Well, I have my doubts too but in my post I was assuming a shake up in the legal system where it could be made to work properly. One of the first things would be to get rid of most of the judges and replace them with proper ones, or at least ones that work faster and know how to say “no” to lawyers that drag out cases! :)

Well, I have my doubts too but in my post I was assuming a shake up in the legal system where it could be made to work properly. One of the first things would be to get rid of most of the judges and replace them with proper ones, or at least ones that work faster and know how to say “no” to lawyers that drag out cases! :)

Efficiency would of course be nice, but as a branch of the government the judiciary system is plagued by some of the same issues the rest of the government faces. Namely, corruption and a slue of other ethical lapses...not to mention the various inadequacies of the RBPF and public defenders. It just seems like there's a lot to be desired even if we were to more swiftly move our criminals to their court appointed ends...:)

Efficiency would of course be nice, but as a branch of the government the judiciary system is plagued by some of the same issues the rest of the government faces. Namely, corruption and a slue of other ethical lapses...not to mention the various inadequacies of the RBPF and public defenders. It just seems like there's a lot to be desired even if we were to more swiftly move our criminals to their court appointed ends...:)
Agreed, but it is nothing that can’t be fixed, if we really want to and we put our minds to it.

At one time these islands were ruled by pirates. We, or at least the British, got rid of them. At one time these island were the domain of the rich White foreigners (I mean more than they are today) We changed that and got majority rule. Can fixing the courts and the police be that hard?

I read somewhere that in Japan cases hardly ever go to trial; the accused usually confesses. We need to find out their secret. We will not be hanging anyone, now or ever and we need to accept this and to find alternative to dealing with the worst among us. I thought about this recently some, and what I would like to know is since "Life" in Prison does not necessarily mean life, why not just stick to absolute years; for example, 100 years for murder, and 50 for rape.Can we do that and eliminate all the bull shyte arguments?

In the HOA yesterday Philip Brave Davis was talking about the need for rehabilitation rather then punishment...he might be on to something.

Right now young men are out on are streets proudly saying they graduated from FHU, Fox Hill University. And they getting degrees in crime.
Once you have been marked a criminal, its hard to get a legitimate job....so many people turn back to crime.
We need more rehabilitation programmes....give them skills they can build on when they leave prison...teach them responsibility, civic pride, national pride, etc.

Also, I don't fully trust Bahamian justice....the police and the courts are too corrupt to trust. Someone innocent person could easily be sentenced to death.
I mean come on just a while ago they found out there was that Japanese man who had been wrongfully and illegally imprisoned for 8 or more years....there are holes in our justice system, before we commit to hanging maybe we should repair these holes first.

Agreed, but it is nothing that can’t be fixed, if we really want to and we put our minds to it.
At one time these islands were ruled by pirates. We, or at least the British, got rid of them. At one time these island were the domain of the rich White foreigners (I mean more than they are today) We changed that and got majority rule. Can fixing the courts and the police be that hard?

I'm not sure these problems changed so much at all. I think more than anything else they evolved. We got rid of one type of pirate for another...the colonialist. And, while we may not have plantations anymore our country still suffers from a neo-colonialist plantation economy. I don't think we should under-estimate greed, corruption and incompetence...those three have been around since the beginning of time and will probably be around until the end of it. My thing is, I'm not sure I'm comfortable taking a life unless the system deciding that fate is full-proof. When that promise can be made, I'd be more apt to support such measures...besides capital punishment is a small bandage on the broken consciousness and mentality of a nation...

Kennedy MP seeks debate on hanging:
http://www.thenassauguardian.com/national_local/347575308611377.php
..."By KRYSTEL ROLLE, NG Staff Reporter, krystel@nasguard.com
Suggesting that Bahamians want the death penalty to be enforced, Kennedy MP Kenyatta Gibson urged the government to cause a debate on the resolution for capital punishment "as soon as possible".
"The Bahamian people want the resumption of capital punishment. The high proportion of senseless murders makes them cry out for justice. They not only want justice when the young woman from Jackson Street is raped, they want justice when their brother from Alexandra Boulevard is assaulted in a grievous manner. And they want justice when their son from Red Land Acres is senselessly slaughtered," said Gibson.
He made this plea during the budget debate in the House of Assembly last night.
He is one of many who have called for the enforcement of the death penalty in less than a week.
On Labor Day the family and friends of Khodee Davis -- the 16-year-old who was stabbed to death during the Whit Monday holiday -- organized a pro-capital punishment March.
Community Activist Rodney Moncur, the cousin of Davis, said the march, which lasted about five hours was designed to demonstrate to the political leadership how serious they were about the issue of capital punishment.
"The supporters of Khodee Davis are right," said Gibson as he contributed to the debate. "Enough is enough. And if hanging the filthy animal who murdered that young man doesn't deter another criminal from committing that crime in the future, at the very least that beast will not be around to kill again. Some how the law abiding citizens of this country need an equalizer. We in this place can be that equalizer for them," he said.
Gibson continued: "It is for that reason that I now ask the government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas to cause a debate on a resolution as regards to the continued need for capital punishment in The Bahamas to take place in this Parliament as soon as is possible. Further I would ask that both sides of this House, both government and opposition, remove the party whip from their membership as regards this issue and allow members to vote on their conscience after consultation with their constituents."
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham indicated that the government would do all it could to ensure the resumption of capital punishment.
Acknowledging that nothing had been done to address the March 2006 Privy Council ruling, which found that the mandatory death sentence was "unconstitutional", Ingraham said the government would do its "utmost to have these legal obstacles determined in the shortest possible time".
Meantime, Gibson said he could see no reason why the Court of Appeal should not be the final court of appeal for criminal matters in the jurisdiction. "The Privy Council's civil jurisdiction may be useful for the near future, but at some point independent and sovereign states such as ours will have to take the bull by the horns to embrace even this task. It's the principle of it. Sovereign nations must develop respect, reverence and acceptance of the judicial capacity, intellect and adjudication of its home grown jurist."
He added that anything else would amount to an unpardonable insult and assault against the Bahamians ancestors in the long term."...
yall does make these politicians run up yall vexation too much...
His contribution was another wutless talk...he was just talking to hear himself...It aint long nah, before the people vote, vote him out.

Honestly, I don't trust the Bahamian justice system enough for Capital Punishment to be an option...
ummm,
cool blog by the way; it has great potential....
however, I was turned off by the half naked men...
no need for it...I am assuming you were attempting to have an intellectual type forum. Take off the dudes...

ummm,
cool blog by the way; it has great potential....
however, I was turned off by the half naked men...
no need for it...I am assuming you were attempting to have an intellectual type forum. Take off the dudes...


Thanks for the advice and thanks for visiting the blog. I hope you'll continue...

I'm not sure my intellectualism and my appreciation for male beauty necessarily have to be exclusive. Here's the thing...intellectuals are great, but I'm also trying to get the everyday young Bahamian gay man to the blog. Anyone that tells you quality requires no gimmick in this visual, anti-intellectual, microwavable age should have the quality of their advice examined. I don't think the quality of my blog is negated by the singular half naked man on it...what do you think?