Dear Editor,

It is virtually cemented in our historical narrative that political violence caused more than 800 people to be killed in 1980. It is an assertion so often made by commentators, including the Jamaica Observer in its editorial of Friday, October 30, 2020.

The total number of murders in 1980 was 869. The assertion would suggest that practically every murder that took place that year was due to political violence.

I recall an instance during the early 1980s when the then commissioner of police, the late Herman Ricketts, appeared before Cabinet, and I specifically asked him how many of those murders were politically motivated. He said that, while it was impossible to give an exact number since the motive could not be clearly established in all cases, he estimated that it was over 300.

This would align with the number of murders committed in the ensuing years when the level of political hostility and violence abated:

1981 – 490

1982 – 405

1983 – 424

1984 – 464

Of course, over 300 murders caused by political violence still constitutes a terrible stain on our political history, but history must be factual.

Bruce Golding

Former prime minister