I am not defending this guy, whom I don't know, but are they not required to collect rent as evidence that they own the property? Otherwise, the squatters can acquire said land by proving that they have been the one's maintaining it. I hope the bill for this is passed along to Mr. Charles and all others who allow these communities to flourish on their properties.

"Good guys" don't stand accused of raping a minor, or coincidentally charged with a laundry list of additional heinous crimes. Sounds like he got off due to a slow moving court system and general ineptness, not because he is innocent of the charges.

I am not sure if you are being sarcastic, but I will clarify. I was making a comparison of this case to the Mike Brown case in which many people seemed certain that Mike Brown could not be at fault because he was shot in the head and described as a gentle giant. In my opinion, people seem to be doing the same thing here based on where the man was shot and the version of events that they choose to believe.

Law Enforcement’s version is that the gun was accidentally discharged in a struggle on the ground in which this man attempted to take control of the officer’s gun. Eyewitnesses, who appear to be the ones harboring him in the first place, tell a much softer version in which both men fell to the ground when the respectful gentleman politely pulled away from the arresting officer. Although the eyewitnesses conveniently reject that a scuffle took place, they too confirm that the man was shot while in a heap on the ground with the officer.

Sounds like the case of the “gentle giant” Mike Brown who man handled a much smaller store clerk, and for whom the trajectory analysis of his wounds, confirmed that he was in a lunging position at the time he was shot. If the people who were there cannot sensibly account for what took place on the ground between those two men, those of us who were not, have absolutely no clue as to what actually took place.

This column makes uncomfortable observations about our society and voting behaviors, which I believe many people will be forced to re-examine if the country continues on this downward spiral. It is also a believable assessment as to why Mr. McCartney’s “arrogance” is perceived as so much worse than that of other politicians. If voters find the needed push to let go of the shallow reasoning that they use to inform their votes, I hope that the DNA is capable of rising to the occasion. In light of their responses to the many recent national controversies, it feels like we can count both opposition parties among those whom this column described last week as seeing a campfire while the country is going up in flames.

Repairs? I hope they meant to say replace, rebuild, or even renovate. Or maybe the two additional zeros were added in error.

The Bahamas is as "heartless" as Haiti and approximately 85 percent of the world, where birthright citizenship is not a right for practical reasons. These constant reassurances to illegal immigrants that they are victims who hold zero accountability for their actions is counterproductive. If he was as passionate about clarifying the wording in the constitution as he is in seeking drama and attention, I believe that the entitlement to apply for citizenship at 18, versus an entitlement to register as citizens would not still be a question. And if his interpretation is correct, the system would not be so clogged with useless applications.

Many Bahamians of other/mixed origin still fuse or hyphenate nationalities to describe themselves, no questions asked. With so much ongoing objection to identifying Haitian-Bahamians for statistical or documentation purposes, I don't see how it is surprising that this term is not widely used by Bahamians.

Too often the criminal is given the benefit of the doubt in these situations. Both incidents involving this man's encounter with officers were described as gun battles, and no reports have surfaced that this public incident went any other way than as described. Until such time, police officers deserve the benefit of the doubt over these bold and confirmed criminals any day.

It takes one to know one. I am sure that that Fred Smith is equally aware of how his comments play on the minds,emotions, and actions of illegal immigrants and the impression that it may leave on the international community. If the comments did not cross the line, as some attendees have claimed, then there is no need for concern.