Equal rights and justice!

Gordon Robinson, Contributor

Today is Marcus Mosiah Garvey's birthday anniversary, but recent events in the land of his birth make a mockery of any celebrations for the hero whose life was committed to equal rights and justice.

Is it only I who have noticed the sudden concern for due process and the rule of law now that a policeman's a murder accused? What do you think would happen to you or me were we to be seen on videotape participating in the ruthless beating and shooting of an apparently defenceless citizen? We'd be locked up immediately (like Dr McGill's alleged killers); grilled under bright lights for days; kept locked up without charge while police scramble about building a case against us independently of the videotape. Eventually, we'd be charged regardless of evidence not yet gathered and thereafter we'd endure innumerable mention dates in jail (you guessed it, no bail!) until the prosecution felt they could conduct a trial.

Then, years later, we'd get our 'day in court' where history suggests that the police would have "located" eye-witnesses to nail our impoverished hides to the cross of guilt. We'd be condemned to prison for life without parole until we received our O.D. (Old and Done). Frederick "Toots" Hibbert can tell you how it usually goes:

"Stick it up mister

Hear what I say sir

Put your hands in the air sir

And you will get no hurt mister...

He said 'what's your number?'

I don't answer

He said 'what's your number man?'

I don't answer

He said "what's your number now?"

I said "hey 54-46, that's my number"

Deliberate new policy

And all this BEFORE the passage of the new crime bill which reputedly places the onus on the accused to prove that he should get bail. This alleged deliberate new policy was designed to keep persons charged with serious crimes in jail where they're theoretically unable to interfere with the ongoing investigation.

This time, the police are embarrassed. This time the police system of miscommunication is cruelly exposed for the parroting propaganda it's always been. This time the purpose of the security farces' request for an extension of their emergency powers is laid bare for all to see. So, this time, we must respect the accused's rights. This time, a Supreme Court judge simply asks the accused not to be naughty! Every imaginable, technical rule of evidence is trotted out for public consumption long before there's the prospect of any trial where those rules might apply. Lawyers stricken by Absence of Wisdom, Analysis, Rationale, Deduction and Sanity (AWARDS) rush to talk shows to market their academic qualifications. One was actually quoted recently making his/her contribution to the sound bite-of-the-week competition by saying, "Dead men tell no tales."

This is the Guy Lombardo Show!! Has nobody ever watched CSI? Dead men not only tell tales but those tales are more reliable than those by unenlightened spectators shouting, "light 'im up, officer!!" No doubt, these spectators were key to Ian Boxhill's recent findings that an overwhelming majority supported a state of emergency extension. But crowds seldom make discoveries. Listen to the legendary Peter Macintosh:

"Everyone is crying out for peace.

None is crying out for justice.

But there will be no peace 'til man got

Equal rights and justice"

Be careful

Forensic medicine experts have a dead body to examine; at least one bullet for ballistic tests; and a gun with which to match the bullets.

But we're told to be careful. Why? Why now? And why only the policeman who allegedly fired the fatal bullet? What about common design? Or assault and battery? Or assault causing actual bodily harm? What's going on?

"Everybody want to go to heaven

But nobody want to die."

Have you noticed how every official spokesman is emphasising how worthless the video is without the videographer to authenticate it? There are calls from everywhere, especially the police, for the videographer to "come forward". Why? Would you? Do you remember 'The Kentucky Kid'? What was his crime? Was it one for which capital punishment is prescribed? Why is the identity and evidence of the videographer so important?

"Everyone is talking about crime

Tell me who are the criminals

I said everybody's talking about crime, crime

Tell me who, who are the criminals

I really don't see them"

Have the police never investigated a murder that wasn't caught live on camera? Are we incapable of prosecuting and convicting a blatant murder, if that's what it is, without showing a live video of the act in court? Give me a break!!

Peace and love.

Gordon Robinson is an attorney-at-law. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com