Quantcast
Channel: Jamaica Observer
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 9214

Guilty until proven innocent

$
0
0
I'm writing to appeal to a sense of justice and for the sake of brotherhood to which we collectively as a nation pledge allegiance as part of our mores and standards of behaviour.

Imagine with me if you will this debacle: an allegation of sexual innuendoes was levelled against

a male teacher/coach by a

female student. The teacher was subsequently remanded in custody by officers of CISOCA without conducting a question and-answer session or even retrieving a statement from the gentleman.

After being in lock-up for five days he was brought before the courts for the case to be mentioned, at which point a request for bail was made, to which the presiding judge denied him on the pretext that she does not grant bail for these cases.

This leads me therefore to ask the question: is the fate of a law-abiding citizen dependent ONLY on the personal discomfort, prejudice, liking or preference of a judge?

Isn't there a standard procedure for such matters? If so, why then is this judge presiding over cases that she obviously has feelings of apprehension in handling? I am not a student of law but, pray tell, wouldn't the appropriate decision to have been taken in this scenario be for the case to be referred to another judge who has the competence, skills and wherewithal to deal with the matter.

Please tell me where the justice in this is? Whatever happened to the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens which state that a person is innocent until proven guilty?

Or, the provision in the law which gives an accused the right to bail?

If a constitutional amendment (whether moderate or radical) has been made to such or, at best, advanced can someone from the rank and file grant us the decency of educating the rest of us?

We cry foul on our justice system, we cry foul on our Government's inaction toward these repetitious relays of injustice in this country.

In fact, we strongly recommend that this female judge be removed from the bench for reasons of her inability to function and to preside objectively. We condemn any such assault or parasitic action on law-abiding citizens by the justice system of this land.

Are we now at a juncture after 50 years as an independent nation where we have to conclude that the law is for the lawful instead of the lawless?

Must I conclude that the sweat, blood and tears of our forefathers that paved the journey from enslavement to ultimate freedom are but wasted efforts? Alas! It seems we are experiencing the law of diminishing returns.

We the people of this nation demand that a stop be put to this haemorrhaging of oppression on the nation's builders.

A concerned citizen

Kingston 10

Guilty until proven innocent

-->

Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 9214

Trending Articles