Are all men really equal?

Patrick Lalor, Contributor

As a firm believer in the Bible and a practising Christian, I truly believe that in the sight of God all men are equal, and it would be an atrocity for me to even think or suggest otherwise.

However, 'in the sight of God' is as far as it goes. This phrase 'all men are equal' tends to be used loosely by us all, but is there any truth to it in the eyes of Jamaican authorities and Jamaican law?

I read an article in The Gleaner dated Thursday, April 4, 2013 and it aroused this question in my mind. The article was titled 'Alleged burglar charged in Bunting incident'. This is an incident that took place at a villa in Portland where Minister of National Security Peter Bunting was staying over the weekend of March 29-31, 2013.

There are conflicting reports as to whether it was a burglary or a robbery, but that is for another forum. My focus is the expedience with which this matter was dealt with.

Speedy police work

I have to commend the police on the speed with which they have almost wrapped this matter up. In a matter of four days, a suspect was identified, arrested, charged, file presented to the clerk of the courts, and suspect taken before the court.

My question, however, is why don't we see such expedience with cases affecting ordinary Jamaicans that are even way more serious that the one in question. There are numerous cases of Jamaicans who have been victimised, robbed, raped, abused, and murdered, and we are yet to hear of an arrest being made. Others in which arrest are made sit before the courts for years to no avail.

Hundreds of working-class Jamaicans lost their hard-earned money in Cash Plus and that matter continues to put be off year after year in the courts. Numerous Ananda Alerts have been issued for young children gone missing, and no arrests have been made, nor has the children been found.

A policeman was killed recently in a training exercise at the Twickenham Park training facility. This happened in a confined space where suspects are limited, yet the matter is still just under investigation. I could go on and on naming various serious cases affecting ordinary Jamaicans in which there has been little or no headway. Would it have been the same in these cases if the victims were politicians/ministers or relatives of politicians/minister?

Fighting corruption

We talk of fighting corruption in Jamaica, but it appears it is more entrenched than we think and will take much more than we propose. The very way in which the law approaches and deals with cases is evidence of corruption.

Superintendent Harry 'Bungles' Daley was freed by the appeal court, and one of the issues raised was that its premises were searched without a warrant. How many Jamaican young men from the inner city are now languishing behind bars or being dragged through the court system because the police kicked off the doors or barged into their houses and found something illegal and they were charged for it? Did the police have warrants in these cases?

In many of these cases, the items are found in tenement yards in open spaces that could belong to anyone, yet young men from poor families are convicted for them.What of these cases?

We would want to believe that our laws protect all our citizens, no matter their age, sex, position or social standing and that the courts will ensure that all the rights to which they are entitled under the law are afforded them. But I have to ask myself, is this wishful thinking? Are all men really equal?

Patrick Lalor is a human-rights activist. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com andpatricklalor727@yahoo.co.uk.