Dear Editor,The Combined Disabilities Association is extremely angered by the gruesome attack on 17-year-old Shelly-Ann Williams, the teenager with disability, from Sandy Bay in Clarendon.

Not only does this represent the continuing scourge of violence in this parish, it again highlights the vulnerability of people with disabilities, especially those considered to be intellectually or mentally disabled.

We trust that the perpetrator will be relentlessly hunted, found, and swiftly brought to justice and that the sentence will be equivalent to the crime.

We also recommend that plea bargain should not be an option in this and other crimes of this nature and magnitude as reduction in time benefits the perpetrator but will never compensate for the loss of life or the level of brutality meted out to this young girl.

We extend our heartfelt sympathies to the family and encourage parents/caregivers of children with disabilities that a part of protecting their wards is to ensure that, as far as possible, these individuals are sensitised to their vulnerabilities and how even those around them can abuse them.

We also use this opportunity to renew our call for the intensification of the investigation into the disappearance of Jasmine Dean, university student who is visually impaired and remains missing.

Arthur Taylor

Chairman

Combined Disabilities Association

Kingston 5

advocacy1981@yahoo.com