If it wasn’t so serious, it would have the makings of a murder mystery. One black man is dead. The suspect is a supposedly a rich white man vacationing in a tropical paradise. Unfortunately, this is not a movie set, but another death in Anguilla which may be ruled a homicide. The deceased is a Dominican national residing in Anguilla. While we have no credible information regarding the circumstances surrounding his death, people are calling for justice and are outraged that the lone suspect was not taken into custody immediately. Issues of race and wealth have immediately come to the fore while people watch keenly to see how the police will deal with the suspect. There are already claims that the suspect is not being accorded the same treatment as others in similar circumstances because of his race and socio-economic status. However, without all the information available, I would be hesitant to make any hasty judgements in this regard. While I am no legal expert, what I do know is this: every person is innocent until proven guilty; every person is entitled to a fair trial and to be treated equally before the law.
While the death of a young man is tragic, it is important that we temper our outrage with reason and logic. Police investigations into the matter must continue. They must gather the evidence required to arrest, charge and bring a matter to trial. We have every reason to believe that this is what they are doing and, as such, we should not rush to conclusions or tell them how to do their jobs. Though we are not immune from issues of race and wealth impacting the administration of justice, we ought not to be so quick to allow the issues of race and intolerance, plaguing other countries, to unreasonably colour our perception of things that are occurring in ours. At the same time, we must still be vigilant in ensuring that justice in Anguilla is dispensed fairly to all concerned. This should be our focus. However, I must wonder whether this will be achieved with the approach we seem to be taking to the matter.
Given that there are concerns with the way in which the police have handled the matter, surely we could be more targeted and strategic in our approach — and either address the Commissioner of Police directly or the person to whom he reports, ie. The Governor. What could have conceivably been achieved by marching or, worse yet, marching to a resort? As a five-star tourism destination, where guests pay a pretty penny to come and visit, how many do we think will return if they are faced with a protest at a property where they are supposed to be vacationing? The tourism industry is our bread and butter. It is a fragile industry and we must always be mindful of the impact of our actions on the industry. It is bad enough that the incident that led to the death of the young man occurred at one of our most luxurious properties. However, we ought not to exacerbate the situation by our ongoing tirades.
The administration of justice must take its course. The suspect was arrested and charged. This is an indication that the police have determined, based on their investigations, that they have sufficient evidence to do so. He was later denied bail in the Magistrate’s Court. He was eventually granted bail by The High Court Judge following an appeal to that Court by his Legal Counsel, Mr. Thomas Astaphan QC. Only time will tell how this will play out, but it is clear that the way in which the matter is dealt with has implications for the public perception of, and confidence in, the justice system. It should be our hope that concerns about lack of fairness and equity are allayed as the truth is eventually revealed – and justice dispensed accordingly.
