BODIES delivered to House of Tranquillity Funeral Home in Kingston in recent times have been marked by gruesome, destructive head and face shots.

So much so that the facility, in some extremely disturbing cases, resorts to suggesting that bereaved families have closed-casket funerals.

Tranquility is the government-contracted funeral home for three parishes — Kingston, St Andrew, and St Thomas.

Joseph Cornwall, managing director, told the Jamaica Observer that in those circumstances the time needed to reconstruct the face of the deceased varies and could be troublesome.

“It all depends on the calibre of the weapon. If it’s a powerful weapon like an M16 or so, it will do serious damage that reconstruction work has to be done. And you still wouldn’t get it at 100 per cent. Based on the impact [of the bullet], the features of the face would have changed. And in some instances, we would recommend that you have a closed casket,” Cornwall told the Observer in an interview last Thursday.

“If you are going to be having any viewing any at all, then the family would have to come to the funeral home, probably the morning of the funeral or the evening before the funeral, and then they would look to see the job that was done and if it is suitable for them to have a viewing,” he continued.

Cornwall added that head and face shots are an indication to him that criminals are shooting at their targets with the intention to kill.

“They are shooting to kill. They are shooting at the upper parts of the body. Most of the people who died violently by the gun are because of head injuries,” he said.

“There are a lot of guns around and the people generally settle their differences by introducing violence. And when they do that, those who have access to guns, they generally go up in the head area. So they shoot to kill.”

Dr Jason Wynter, chair of the Department of Behavioural and Social Sciences at Northern Caribbean University (NCU) told the Observer that Cornwall’s assumption is reasonable.

“That may very well be the intent of the shooters, in terms of aiming to the body and the aim being a pivotal, central hub. You get the head of an individual and that’s it. So, in terms of finality too, once you hit, that’s it,” he said.

For argument’s sake, Cornwall told the Observer that if a high-calibre weapon was used to shoot someone in the upper torso, above the chest, or in the face, “all of those bones will be damaged”.

Further, Cornwall gave an example of someone who was shot in the head at close range with an M16. He noted that such an attack would do serious damage to the face.

Commenting on whether restructuring the face could get it to a presentable state, Cornwall added, “It would be very difficult. It’s a wax work, because this is a dead body now. So there is nothing to heal and get better. Sometimes they lose pieces of bone or skin, dependent on how close the shot was fired.”

The Jamaica Constabulary Force’s (JCF) Serious Crimes Report as at March 31, 2023 shows that there have been 303 murders and 254 shootings this year thus far.

Rev Stephen Smith, pastor at Seaforth Circuit of Baptist Churches, reasoned that Jamaicans have a long-standing culture of viewing bodies at funerals and that can be interpreted as a form of saying a final goodbye.

“For some persons, right at the graveside, they wish to do a final look. It is giving them a kind of closure as it relates to a loved one who has passed on. Not being able to see one’s loved one in that last moment can be devastating for a number of persons. It can be really difficult for some persons,” he said.

“They know the person is not coming back. They would have accepted that already. But just to be able to see that body lying there and just to take one last look means a whole lot to many persons.”

Smith said he recognises and accepts Tranquility’s move to suggest closed caskets in certain cases.

“I recognise that aspect of it as well. There are times when it might be best not to. You have to just council family members through moments like those when it is not possible for varying reasons,” he told the Observer.

Smith said it is important to consider the flip side, however.

“There are some persons who just don’t want to have a last look at all. When the body is in the church, some of them will not go to look at it because, frankly, some persons cannot deal with that moment either. So you have the different responses as it relates to our culture,” he said.

Calvin Lyn, director at Lyn’s Funeral Home — the government-contracted funeral home for Manchester — said the situation highlighted by Cornwall is not a frequent case there. However, he said there are occurrences.

“I’m not going to say it happens a lot, but it does happen. We have gunshot victims that have face damage, so we who are the certified embalmers, we have the type of material that we use to reconstruct the face so that it can be viewed and look close to the normal face. We ask for a photograph of the deceased to rebuild the whole facial aspect. It is not usual. You want to do your best to satisfy the relatives. When they are satisfied you feel so proud,” he told the Observer.

Lyn, who is also president of the Jamaica Association of Certified Embalmers and Funeral Directors, said facial reconstruction is “for the satisfaction of the relatives who are grieving, bereaved. You will say to the family members, ‘You come and have your private viewing.’ And if they are satisfied that the public should view, they decide.”