Dr. Hubert Minnis,

you and Mr. Christie are both missing the point as to what is needed to arrest the crime dilemma. Back in 2009 you withdrew your support from me even though you'd promised me it. In the closet you commended but publicly stood aloft to punching your card in support of my rehabilitation into mainstream society. Within two (2) years from today's date you will be soliciting my support.

That now said but not to lose the point, you and Mr. Christie are wrong to believe that jobs, in the guise of the lack of money, is the pain that aches the hearts of our youths. If I had not held fast to my Faith and believed in myself, I too would have washed up, as well, on the 'shoals of crime'. According to your own words I am clear to say that you, nor Mr. Christie, have the message of HOPE.

In the movie titled 'Shawshank Redemption', Morgan Freeman highlighted it best "Hope is the greatest thing ever". And you, nor Mr. Christie, can ever appreciate this fact. Please give my regards to Pat.

Nick

About this 'Swift Justice' idea. If 'justice delayed' is 'justice denied', how could it be rational to go to the other extreme of the pole and claim success? This asinine pursuit is so typical of a cosmetic, or rather, a knee-jerk response.

If no one in the entire Bahamas has a copy of it, or, have never read or heard of it, I have a copy and I have fully read, understood and appreciate the principle enunciated in Aristotle's Politics. There is a 'mean' in everything that we do. In other words, we should seek out and find the 'median' in our actions before embarking. Going from one extreme to the next will prove as counter-productive as the other. There is a careful calculation to be employed in all that we do.

One ought to appreciate what is being compromise in this pursuit of 'Swift Justice'. Those persons who instituted it, have not, or, are still yet incapable of fully appreciating the social ramifications of such a juvenile and asinine idea.

You speak of "the long standing need to expand our seriously over crowded Prison System. For past decade or more, those charged with serious offenses like murder, rape, armed robberies, armed home invasions, etc. have been given bail due in large part due to our over crowded Fox Hill prison which must now let one criminal go free in order to make room for another. This over crowding problem obviously compromises the crime deterrence objective of our entire Criminal Justice System.".

You, like the Ingraham and Christie Administrations, is blind to believe that an expansion of our criminal justice system is indicative that we are on the road of success. How could this be? A friend from Trinidad once said, 'Should our leaders, who are leading, turn around and notice that no one is following, they ought to then realise they are only out on a walk'. But indeed, our leaders are leading and the murderers, rapist and armed robbers etc etc... are following!!!.

Friend, is it the fact of the "serious offences" that is cramping our Country? Again, you are blind if you think so. The cramping starts with hateful and unforgiving attitudes. When he sat on the bench as Acting Justice, Mr. Malcolm Adderley was heard to quote, "the law must serve as an end, and not be an end in itself". Stop your hate for the 'criminal', rather, employ your energy and resources to preventing the 'crime'.

However, the leaders cannot teach the people better if they don't have the message of life to live better. They can only give of what they've got!!!

You asked " Isn't it time to dig deeper and find out who (or the real motive) is really behind theses killings? Or do we really want to know?". With reference to the Bible, please note that in the book of I Samuels 4:3 a question similar to what you are asking was asked by the 'elders of Israel'. But it was more than 20 years later, in chapter 7:3-4, that the question was responded to in the right way and the appropriate action was taken to remedy the persistent social and spiritual decline. No..., the turn around is not yet. We have not yet begin to "lament" our state of affairs. At the moment, we just got our 'carnival' started, and, junkanoo is fast on the way.

Never mind our 'political leaders' who show daily that the law holds no standard or consequences for them; only for us, the grassroots and marginalised. There are no consequences for wrongdoing from the highest office in the Country.

But to begin a response to your query, as far back as 2010 (no later than July, 2011) I have personally appealed and written letters to heads of the judiciary, both the Supreme Court & Court of Appeal, noting, citing and warning them of the conduct of their officers who continually cause darkness to prevail where the light of hope should have been burning bright. There is no longer any faith, or confidence, in the legal system. And as to finding resolution and resolving issues, it is pitched dark up in there!!!

Too many times, both directly and indirectly, everyone of us (young and old) have seen that there are no consequences for the evil doers who are of certain socio-political affiliations. Hence, the attitude from those who feel marginalise 'when the water banks of their mental shores break' can be summed up to say, "why waste my time and frustrate myself further?". He/she takes the matter into their own hands in hopes of exacting their own view of justice. You may not like the way they are going about it, but, until they become convinced of a higher standard of persuasion, their perception is their reality.

Ms. Turner, it is noteworthy, that is, your acknowledgement "a criminal is not only a person who has been convicted of a crime – it is a person who commits a crime". Recently I was reflecting whiles I sat down quietly Christ Church Cathedral. In my reflection I finally reaslized what the 'Cross of Christ' was truly all about. Contrary to popular held opinions of love, mercy and forgiveness and redemption, it is a direct outcome of unforgiveness. Now the 'Cross' makes better sense to me. Jesus was nailed to the cross because of the absolute insistency of others to impose on him what they felt should be the moral norms of the day; this, notwithstanding he did absolutely nothing wrong nor was it ever proven that he did anything detrimental to the social order of the day. This is now and was the case notwithstanding, "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God". Having thus stated, there are social consequences for unforgiving atitudes.

Excellent comments Ms. turner, however, the significant proportion of persons you might be referring to as criminals are, in fact, your children. You needn't be the actual biological mother of them; but socially, they are the children that were born from you and me. The FNM came to power in 1992. I participated in the campaign leading to that faithful day of August, 19th, 1992. Some 21 years back then we viewed the criminal situation to be similar to what it is today. Admittedly, the numbers weren't as high but nonetheless, they were sufficiently alarming that we back then were calling the misguided youths of that time 'criminal' as well. It is now the month of March, 2013. Ms Turner I am sufficiently poised and can state that you, me, and for that fact, your adult readers cannot simply absolve ourselves from the social havoc of what we have created by thinking that calling our children 'criminals' would set some distance between the responsibility for chaos by calling them criminals. As a Nation, we can begin the turn around by first confessing the crime committed against Dorsey Ryan and his family. A passage of scriptue: II Samuel 21 shows that a Nation can still be ill-affected by a crime that it fais to give reparation. We as a Country have not offered to attone by expiation the wrongs done to this man ( Dorsey Ryan) and his family under the Leadership of Prime Minister Lynden Pindling and the then PLP government. We can begin there; otherwise, Sharon, kindly note that we are only the product of our fore-fathers and mothers. And apathy will not justify any us so don't say you had nothing to do with it.