Justice and Mercy
Bahamas Court News reports
that the police arrested a homeless woman on the 25th April for
failing to comply with the Corona Virus lockdown restrictions. Carine Ceremy was standing in front of the
car in which she lives because she is homeless.
At court she pled guilty and at her arraignment she explained that the car
is small and she has to come outside to occasionally stretch her legs, when the
police arrested her she was standing next to the car she lives in simply
because she was stretching her legs. Carine
reports that she has no relatives who could take her in and the shelter only
allowed her to stay 14 days. The prosecution however, withdrew the case and the
magistrate reportedly said he would make inquiries for a shelter that would
accommodate her. In this case, the courts chose compassion over prosecution, but
during this Corona Virus Lockdown, a number of homeless persons have been
arrested for failing to comply with the lockdown.
In an interview with the
Nassau Guardian, Bishop Walter Hanchell said he was in support of the curfew
but he expressed concern for “those left
walking around” during the lockdown. (Bishop Hanchell and the Great Commission
Ministries helps many of the homeless and unfortunate in our community, he said he was looking for a facility to house
such persons, so let us remember to support such organization because, but for
the grace of God, you and I could be in those same circumstances.) In this case the plight of the homeless and
the extremely poor was overlooked, and I don’t think it was simply careless,
but a lack of awareness of the real struggle for those who are down on their
luck. Case in point, on Tuesday, 19th
May, 2020 two men Ambrose Petitbeau and Rony Atinore were arrested while at the
pump on Hospital Lane. The fact that you
must get water for household use from the public pump suggests that you are disadvantaged,
so why increase their burden with hefty fines.
Yes we are in the midst of a pandemic, but these men could have simply
been cautioned and allowed to return home with their water. Further, they are saying the best way to
avoid the spread of this virus is by practicing good hygiene, so if a family
has no running water in their house, the public pump is their water supply and
realistically, securing enough water for the lockdown can sometimes be a
challenge.
When asked
about the arrest of the homeless during curfew, Eyewitness News reports that
Attorney General, Carl Bethel, QC said “even if the policy is
“misguided”, it is limited by the capacity of the Department of Correctional
Services and holding cells”. “If it is a knee jerk
reaction to grab everybody said to be homeless and bring them before a court
and then be [ordered] to pay a lot of money which they don’t have or go to
jail; that’s bound to be frustrated by the lack of capacity of the prison
system to deal with it and there has to be a better societal resolution. Now,
that only me speaking as a lawyer.” But,
while he stated that he is speaking as a lawyer, he remains the Attorney
General and one of his roles is, “the Guardian of the Public Interest” (Ontario
Ministry of the Attorney General). The
Government seemingly did not make temporary arrangements for the homeless but
in the future, perhaps they could network with agencies like Great Commission
Ministries and the Salvation Army, who have an abundance of experience working
with the homeless to bring help and relief.
Another
recent case which case which got a lot of attention was the arrest of 18 year
old Jason Williams who was fine $700.00 for “selling coconuts” (ie running a
non-essential business and breaking curfew).
As the Tribune reports, the young man did not have a valid licence, but the
public was seemingly so outraged by his arrest, that the community made contributions
to assist in paying the young man’s fine to avoid him having to go to prison. Young Mr. Williams said he was simply trying
to earn some honest money. I understand
that the law must be obeyed and these rules were put in place to protect the
entire county by preventing the spread of the Corona Virus, nevertheless, I am concerned
about arresting a young man, and giving him a possible criminal record. I concede that he broke the law but, the
issue here is if society is served by locking up Jason, perhaps in cases like
this community service is better. These
officers perhaps could have directed him to the authorities so that he could be
processed for his licence and health certificate, and follow up to ensure that
he complied, that would have been more helpful and a better execution of
Community Policing than spending nights in a cell.
The
primary issue with all of these cases is, while we must enforce the law, we
must also be mindful that justice should be tempered with mercy. If we were to examine Lady Justice, which
hold a great deal of symbolism, I would note that she is blindfolded, which
means she is impartial and treats all persons equally, she carries scales in
her hands which means she weights each individual’s fate, the punishment must
fit the crime, she carries a sword, which is to defend the law and ensure that
it is enforced, but it is also to protect all who come before her. We are a country that is governed by the Rule
of Law, but let us also be a society of mercy and tolerance.