By Kenicia Francis
Prime Minister Gaston Browne has publicly criticised the judiciary following the fatal shooting that marred the final night of Carnival celebrations on Tuesday.
The incident killed 43-year-old Kergus Martin, of Liberta, and left three other people injured, two of them critically.
The PM expressed frustration with what he perceives as lenient sentencing and bail practices, particularly for repeat offenders involved in gun crimes.
In a post to his official Facebook page yesterday, Browne stated, “This shooting was ostensibly done by a criminal element who is known to the police for gun crimes. Interestingly, he was recently given bail.
“The judiciary is failing our society by giving these known un-empathetic, destructive, criminal elements bail and short sentences, allowing them to become repeat offenders, thereby destabilising our society with their routine criminal acts of crime and violence.
“While sentencing is the exclusive domain of the judiciary, as a member of the legislature, I am of the firm view that our judiciary is failing us.
“Be empathetic to our people and not criminals. Crime and violence must not pay and those who engage in crime and violence must surely pay.
“We cannot reign [sic] in criminals with slaps on the wrist; they must be severely punished, especially repeat offenders who are involved in gun crimes. Protect our society; up the sentencing now and end routine bail for these hardcore criminals,” he added.
Browne’s post received more than 150 likes and dozens of comments. Responding to one social media user who suggested a legal change was needed, the PM replied, “We took a Bill to parliament to enforce strict and harsh sentences for gun crimes and were told that we were trespassing on the domain of the judiciary.”
The latter statement reflects an effort to introduce a law aimed at imposing stricter and harsher sentences specifically for gun crimes.
Browne seems to suggest there’s a conflict as the judiciary raised concerns about parliament encroaching on their exclusive authority in sentencing matters.
The PM also chided judges for “using their discretion to give bail and lenient sentences to these known criminal elements”.
“According to some of these judges, the constitutional rights of these known repeat criminals take precedent over the safety of our people.
“We will be pushing for amendments to the sentencing guidelines to increase the mandatory jail sentences for these criminals and to restrict bail to exceptional circumstances,” Browne vowed.
The situation highlights the delicate balance between the legislative and judicial branches in defining and implementing legal consequences for criminal behaviour.
When approached by Observer for comment, Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General Steadroy “Cutie” Benjamin declined to respond to the Prime Minister’s comments.
Benjamin added that he will address the incident at an appropriate time once the police have conducted their investigation.
Tuesday evening’s shooting caused panic among Carnival revellers, with eyewitnesses reporting a chaotic scene as people fled the area.
Video footage circulating on social media shows crowds rapidly dispersing from the East Bus Station.
Police are actively investigating the incident and have appealed for public assistance.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Criminal Investigations Department at 462-3913 or the CrimeStoppers Hotline at 800-Tips (8477).
