ONE of the fascinating things about our use of language as Jamaicans is the way in which we are able to say things that are redundant and yet effective. I found that I was drawn to the expression “kill dem dead” as I reflected on an experience of recent days and once again tried to process the ways in which we attempt as a people to make sense of such experiences.

Just over a week ago I visited Belize at the invitation of the Anglican bishop of that diocese to conduct a workshop during the course of their Synod. The day before I arrived, I received word of a tragic double murder that took place in the city, involving persons who were intimately connected with the Anglican Diocese. It was not until after I arrived in Belize that I was informed that the couple who had offered to be my hosts were brutally murdered just over 24 hours before my arrival. I knew the husband from contact in church circles as he was appointed to serve in a major leadership role in his diocese and in the Caribbean-wide church. This bright and promising young attorney who was involved in church, national life and politics, along with his wife, an accomplished forensic auditor, and who were in their early forties were brutally murdered in their home late at night as they arrived home from a function.

What is most tragic and heart-rending about the whole thing is that they have now left behind four children, between the ages of six months and eight years. The outpouring of emotion as the two caskets were borne into the Anglican Cathedral for the official funeral in the company of their orphaned children, state officials, family, colleagues and friends was most moving and overwhelming for some in attendance.

As the shock and sense of numbness gave way to the reality of what had transpired, anger and grief became evident. Understandably, persons were calling for the perpetrator(s) of such a crime to meet the most vengeful kind of punishment possible. The hope was expressed that as these persons were connected to the legal profession, politics, and public life, that no stone would be left unturned in bringing the perpetrators to justice. Not surprisingly then, the bishop of the diocese, a personal friend of the deceased, in his sermon expressed the deep sense of grief and outrage which persons were feeling about the abhorrent crime, but warned against allowing the monstrous behaviour of such perpetrators of this crime to lead us on a path to becoming monsters ourselves.

In hoping that the perpetrators will be brought to trial and justice will be served, I began to wonder what really constitutes justice. I think of the response to criminal acts that is often forthcoming from many sectors of the society: perpetrators should be hanged. Belize, like Jamaica, has had capital punishment on hold for a long time and, therefore, it is unlikely that capital punishment will be administered if those arrested are convicted of the crime. At the same time, I ask myself what would be sufficient punishment for a person convicted of taking two young and productive lives? Of equal concern to me is what would constitute justice for these four young children, who will not only grow up without the presence and love of their parents, but will probably not be able to retain memories of their parents and the love which they had for them?

It was the latter question that made me remember our redundant expression “kill dem dead”. It captures the notion that for persons who see the capital punishment as the answer, they would have to kill the perpetrators over again to deal with the multiple lives lost or fractured. Some readers may recall that the idea, apart from being redundant, is not as far-fetched as it sounds as there was an instance, just over a year ago in Jacks Hill, St Andrew, in which gunmen exhumed the body of one of ill-repute and pumped countless bullets into the corpse.

As tragic as this situation is, I still believe that all crimes are to be punished, but that capital punishment is not the answer. And in some ways, while satisfying the desire for revenge in many, will never constitute justice for others. Will capital punishment be the salvo that these children will cherish in years to come as justice delivered? I am again led to ask, what is leading us to these vicious crimes, and how can we act as a people of Jamaica and the Caribbean to stem the tide of crime and violence?

This brings me to some of the details of this crime as revealed in the public arena thus far. There is a primary player in this crime. He was employed to the couple. It is alleged that some months ago he stole one of their motor cars while in their employ, would turn up to work each day having driven his employers’ stolen car, which he would park at a nearby location. Subsequently, the car was spotted by the owner and the employee was fired. On the night of the murder, the car was again stolen and within hours found in the possession of the same ex-employee, along with other incriminating evidence. He was then arrested and charged. Apparently, there seems to have been an accomplice.

Beyond attempting to settle the issue with a mere call for the reinstatement of capital punishment, I would like to point out that there are some serious social problems developing in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean society that not only create orphans, but will make the world in which they are growing up no more safe than when their parents met a violent death.

It is becoming clear that many of the crimes, apart from those that are obviously connected with the drug trade, are being carried out by persons who have access to people’s households and their employer’s sphere of work and living. They are persons who have enjoyed a certain level of trust, access and privileges which go with the same. There is clearly a breakdown of social relationships and values taking place in our society when the first thing that enters the minds of some employees is to find ways to steal from the till or remove property. We have heard of the woes of persons whose helpers clean out silverware, linen and other valuables during their brief time of employment. We also know that many cases of praedial larceny are committed by persons in the employ of the farmer, often in collusion with others. Increasingly, fraud is being committed by young persons on their first job assignment — some financial and other institutions try to cover this up in order not to scare their customers. Some of the hold-ups and gun crimes that are being committed involve complicity between employees and their cronies who share information about the employer’s daily schedule and where to find the objects to be stolen.

One could perhaps argue that some of these things spring from materialism, which is overtaking our people and some of whom are now prepared to secure such benefits by any means available. It is also possible to argue that there is a serious deficit in the level of preparation of our young people for the world of work. In this regard, we may be focusing on the skills necessary for entry into the workplace but not the values and attitudes which should attend the same. Perhaps we have forgotten that it is not only the men and women of Wall Street who may be well equipped with the skills for the workplace but bankrupt in the values to accompany the same.

Perhaps, however, there is a level of social alienation that is leading some of our citizens to view employers as the enemy who are out to exploit them and who should therefore be out-manoeuvred. This is quite consistent with the historical experience of slave society which created an exploitative relationship between master and slave, and in which the slave had to use his wits to deal with the conniving master. Whatever constitutes the reality behind this dynamic, it cannot continue unabated, and must be a matter not just for labour unions and employer organisations, but the whole society.

However, having said that, there is yet another dimension to this tragedy in Belize which we too must confront. It is the way in which we deal with anger. It is clear that this employee was dishonest and had an antisocial attitude which led him to steal his employers’ car, but to think that he could be so justifiably angry that he could go back and brutally murder them because he was fired, and then to take back the car is just incredible. Certainly, there are aspects of this crime that read almost like a storybook. At the same time, the dynamics at work are not entirely rare or unknown. The reality is that the way in which our people deal with anger is an increasing social problem confronting Caribbean societies. At the time of writing this article I am in St Vincent chairing a meeting of persons from across the Caribbean. Our conversation at lunch centred on the problem of violence and the operation of gangs in schools across the region. I listened to hair-raising stories of knives being plunged into fellow students and security personnel in schools that have to be transferred by their firm because they dared to intervene in after-school fights between feuding gangs on the playing field. I also listened to stories of attempts by clergy to seek to mentor students in high schools and the responses of students who describe with the greatest candour what they would do with their knives if other students crossed their path.

It is clear to me that what transpired in Belize a week ago is not a Belizean problem but a Caribbean one, which visibly showed its head on this occasion. We can continue to debate what should be done, but the point is that if we do not move beyond debate, this social monster is only going to get worse. We can chose to console ourselves in our more sober moments or in our moments of anger that it is because of the suspension of capital punishment that these crimes are now increasing and that, if our young people are made aware of the prospect of capital punishment they would put away their anger. But that would be to delude ourselves. Given the multiple victims who are impacted by such crimes, we would have to “kill dem dead” to avenge the crimes that have been and are being committed, if this is the path we are choosing. And perhaps, when we have done this, we can, in our deluded state, console ourselves with the thought that these young orphaned children will feel that justice has been done, and the world into which they step forward has been made more secure and more just by our actions.