Jamaica
Head of State Queen: Elizabeth II, represented by
Kenneth Hall
Head of Government: Bruce Golding
Death Penalty: Retentionist
Population: 2.7 million
Life expectancy: 72.2 years
Under-5 mortality (m/f): 18/16 per 1,000
Adult Literacy: 79.9 per cent
In the context of the public security crisis, a reported 1,611 people were murdered. The majority of victims were from marginalized inner-city communities. A raft of so-called “anti-crime” bills – including extension of police powers of arrest, increases in bail periods and minimum sentences for gun-related crimes – remained before Parliament at the end of the year. National human rights organizations questioned the constitutionality of some of the bills’ provisions and expressed concerns that the proposed extra police and judicial powers could lead to abuse. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights visited Jamaica in December. In its preliminary observations the Commission stated it had witnessed an “alarming level of violence” which affected all sectors of society, and pointed to continued shortcomings in the security forces and justice system as well as widespread corruption and poverty as the principal causes for the deteriorating public security situation.
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Give thanks,
Repeating Islands.
clipped from thereport.amnesty.org
3 comments:
The usual idiots will decry the report, and complain that Amnesty isn't protecting them from crime. But nobody wants to do anything about the causes of crime, the real desperation that so many people feel. The casualness with which people who are supposed to enforce law treat the law. And so on.
Fragano, no matter what anyone want to say 1611 murders is a lot.
Considering that 800+ murders was considered the brink of civil war in 1980, 1611 isn't just a hell of a lot, it's the very sign and sigil of a society in serious breakdown. But since most of the time it's poor people killing other poor people, the middle and upper classes cower behind their fences, walls and grilles, hire more security guards, and demand that the police kill "criminals" on sight.
Violence continues to breed violence. Meanwhile, if I'm reading between the lines a lot of brown pickney are being born as gentlemen from Colombia are moving in and out of the island in what I've recently seen described as a "Spanish invasion".
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