Some 2,424 years since the death of one of the world’s most revered philosophers, society is still struggling with the principles he upheld to his very death. In court, Socrates made it a point to register why he refused to plead for mercy. He refused to be acquitted by begging or any other means other than instruction and persuasion.
In Athens, Socrates was adamant, justice is not a favour. It must be handed down in accordance with the law. Of course, we know that the law can sometimes be unjust, but that is another story.
In this instance, it is instructive to note that over 2000 years later, in modern Guyana, justice is not only seen as a favour, it is becoming a commodity.
Guyana, like many of her neighours, have been going through a lot lately. In less than two weeks, she endured several fatal accidents, robberies, an act of terrorism and senseless killings. But justice is not served across the board. A mother lost her daughter to an act of terrorism. She may never recover. But for her, the wheels of justice seem to be in motion.
On the other hand, an eight-year-old lost his dad at the hands of a trigger-happy businessman. He may never recover, but for him, the wheels of justice are stuck.
The news was that a police rank, Richard Haynes, was shot dead by a businessman, Robert Hoosein during an argument over a defective cellular phone. He was then charged for manslaughter and placed on $1M bail, which was quickly posted.
David Patterson, a former Minister of Government, almost immediately took to his Facebook page expressing dissatisfaction over the handling of the matter. He cited examples of many Guyanese who were remanded on charges of lesser offences. Included in these examples was the case of his former parliamentary colleague who was remanded for possession of marijuana despite the fact that someone else took ownership of the substance.
Patterson then stated, “here we have a man shooting a serving police officer (rank) and being granted bail on his very first court appearance. In no other country, would anyone accused of shooting and killing a serving police officer be granted bail much less charged for the lesser count of manslaughter- in other countries, irrespective of the circumstances, shooting a police officer is treated as an attack on the entire law enforcement establishment…The reasoning is simple, anyone assaulting a police officer, off duty or not, much less shooting and killing, endangers the entire law enforcement establishment.”
I understood what Patterson said about the police/civilian factor but it did not hit me as most the most discomforting factor.
There are quite a few Guyanese in the online space who weighed in and spoke about the race factor. Those who believe that the perpetuator, being Indo-Guyanese allowed him a softer reaction.
I watched a video where Richard Haynes widow called for justice. She lamented that her 8-year-old son is deprived of a good dad. The grieving woman said “the poor don’t have nobody for them.” There she pointed out another factor, economic.
There we have three dynamics, professional: police vs. civilian; race: Indo- Guyanese vs. Afro-Guyanese and Class: rich vs. poor. I am not naive, I know all those are real factors but none of them resonated like, victim vs villain. For me it makes little difference if the victim was Indo-Guyanese, a civilian, rich, female or childless. Just that it was a heinous crime.
Days after the killing, Travis Chase released a video of the tragic incident.
Both men were seen and heard advancing their opinions at the top of their voices. But they were on two completely different wave lengths. The victim never realized what was at play.
The trigger man accused his victim of wanting to “thief something.”
These are extracts from the dialogue.
Victim: Yea, ah come fuh thief, go and tell de f**king police nah, go lang tell de f**king police I come fuh thief.
Triggerman: Me aint gah tell de f**king police, pick up something nah, pick up something
Victim: Is deh is weh ya mothas**nt gah go. Deh is weh you end up gah go
Triggerman: Pick up something and see weh you gon fucking go, you pick up something
Victim: “…You want threaten me, I gon go deh, you want see who gon go deh, you want see who gon go at de f**king station?
Victim: Points hand out but remains a reason distance away from Triggerman
Triggerman: Don’t put ya f**king hand in me face
Triggerman: Hits victim finger away
Victim: Hits an object on the counter, jamming the computer screen. Still not touching the triggerman
Triggerman: Picks up gun
Victim: You gon shoot me (turns to run) ah.
His last word was ah. It is clear that the triggerman had one intention. He wanted a glimpse of a reason to kill, and at the first chance he got, he executed, his plan and his victim.
The police charged the triggerman for manslaughter, not murder, manslaughter. I heard the word in the force is, “dem region 3 police just different.”
The police laid that charge after reviewing the evidence and now that the evidence is public, there has been no review as to what lead to that charge. No official word from the force.
Why? Is it because the victim is police? Is it because he is black? Is it because he is not well off? Or does it have nothing to do with the victim, but everything to do with the villain?
Whatever the reason, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. On one hand, Guyana is developing, on the other, civilization is on the decline.
Justice is a core principle of any fair and equitable society. Ensuring that laws are applied, consistently and without bias. Is the government concern about Guyana not appearing as fair and equitable?
