Dear Editor,
Many of us were sincerely disappointed with the outcome of the Khajeel Mais trial. We believe that justice was not done as no one has been held accountable for the death of another Jamaican child. Many are also unconvinced that all angles were explored and every stone unturned by law enforcement in their pursuit of due process.
They could not, however, make the key witness, Wayne Wright, undo what he chose to do in the witness box. If Wright has, in fact, lied, then he failed to act justly and defend the life of a fellow citizen that was was wrongly taken. Many people denounce this response, and if Wright has not been true, he will have to live with the moral and factual consequences of his choices.
So will the person whose gun ended the life of young Mais.
A few days after the trial came the news that another young Jamaican male was murdered while on public transportation. Reports are that members of the public were present at the time of the incident. Could anyone have intervened to save the life of Nicholas Francis? If they could have, but didn’t, they were, like others before, choosing self over defending the life of a child. We should condemn them also, shouldn’t we?
The real fact is that a culture of fear envelopes Jamaica. It allows citizens to commit crime and remain unaccountable. Every Jamaican child is therefore exposed and potentially unprotected because of this phenomenon, which is potentially in all of us. We have a choice: either cowardice, complacency and self-preservation, or brotherhood, justice and peace.
What happens next depends on our individual and collective answer to this question: If we do not step in for that person in need, who will step in for us?
Philippa Davies
Advocacy Officer
Jamaica Coalition for
a Healthy Society
jchsadvocate@gmail.com
Many of us were sincerely disappointed with the outcome of the Khajeel Mais trial. We believe that justice was not done as no one has been held accountable for the death of another Jamaican child. Many are also unconvinced that all angles were explored and every stone unturned by law enforcement in their pursuit of due process.
They could not, however, make the key witness, Wayne Wright, undo what he chose to do in the witness box. If Wright has, in fact, lied, then he failed to act justly and defend the life of a fellow citizen that was was wrongly taken. Many people denounce this response, and if Wright has not been true, he will have to live with the moral and factual consequences of his choices.
So will the person whose gun ended the life of young Mais.
A few days after the trial came the news that another young Jamaican male was murdered while on public transportation. Reports are that members of the public were present at the time of the incident. Could anyone have intervened to save the life of Nicholas Francis? If they could have, but didn’t, they were, like others before, choosing self over defending the life of a child. We should condemn them also, shouldn’t we?
The real fact is that a culture of fear envelopes Jamaica. It allows citizens to commit crime and remain unaccountable. Every Jamaican child is therefore exposed and potentially unprotected because of this phenomenon, which is potentially in all of us. We have a choice: either cowardice, complacency and self-preservation, or brotherhood, justice and peace.
What happens next depends on our individual and collective answer to this question: If we do not step in for that person in need, who will step in for us?
Philippa Davies
Advocacy Officer
Jamaica Coalition for
a Healthy Society
jchsadvocate@gmail.com