Dear Editor,

Why are we surprised at the upsurge in mob or vigilante killings? We have a justice system that is in tatters, cases take years to be tried and sometimes witnesses migrate or die from natural causes.

Attorneys often have more than one case scheduled for the same trial date, and the director of public prosecutions sometimes request a nolle prosequi. This often gives credence to the maxim that "justice delayed is justice denied". It is therefore a natural progression that since we have an unreliable justice system then the ordinary man will take matters into his own hands.

It must not be encouraged and cannot be justified, but nevertheless it is sometimes quietly applauded but loudly condemned. If your teenage daughter is being molested and you report it to the relevant authorities over and over, and they do nothing, what else can you do?

If a crowd is whipped into a frenzy over the deaths of two youngsters and believe that justice will not be served, why wait? Returning confidence to our justice system requires the injection of resources; it needs a proactive minister; it needs leaders who understand that without a decent and reliable justice system we all end up back in the caves.

Even if we fix education, health, security and finance and still have injustice, we would have still left out a fundamental pillar of civilisation. No society, no matter how wealthy, healthy or educated can survive injustice; it is the first step in ensuring security, law and order. If we fix the justice system crime will fall, people will feel safer, businesses will boom, security will follow and schools and colleges will be able to stay open as late as possible.

Mark Clarke

Siloah, St Elizabeth

mark_clarke9@yahoo.com