Ramesh is helping Gov't carry out the death penalty
...PM says he believes in hanging for muderhttp://www.trinidadexpress.com/20170316/news/ramesh-is-helping-govt-carry-out-the-death-penaltyPRIME Minister Dr Keith Rowley, reacting today to the murder of woman police officer Nyasha Joseph, said he is “a firm believer” in the death penalty.
The PM also disclosed that Government had communicated openly with former Attorney General Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj on the issue and that he, Maharaj, was assisting in building the necessary pathway for executions to be carried out.
Maharaj was unavailable for comment when contacted by the Express this afternoon.
Rowley, speaking at the Post Cabinet briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister in St Clair, said his belief in capital punishment was not based on the practice as a deterrent to crime but rather as a punishment fitting the crime.
WPC Nyasha Joseph, 22, went missing last Thursday and immediately there were fears for her life as relatives said she would not have voluntarily left her four-year-old daughter.
Joseph's body was found yesterday at the mouth of Caroni River into the Gulf of Paria by fishermen dragging the sea bed for shrimp.
Earlier this year Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi had said the Office of the Attorney General was working towards re-animating the death penalty locally and he emphasised that the law in Trinidad and Tobago still permitted hanging until dead for the crime of murder.
Al-Rawi said his office was actively tracking a handful of cases currently on death row and that part of the issue was that after a convict had served a particular period of time, human rights concerns came into play where the death penalty was involved.
As of December 2016, the Attorney General said that there were 32 inmates on Death Row, but none qualified to meet the hangman.
He said the cases were being tracked so that the State would be on the side of the law if and when it looked to assert its right to employ the death penalty.
This was noted by Rowley who also remarked that he was unapologetic about his position.
Rowley said a minority within the population had chosen the way of crime and also felt that there were no consequences to their actions and he was also not convinced that having a difficult life was an excuse to turn to crime.
At the start of addressing Joseph's murder, Rowley said that as a father of daughters who are often in the country, he too has moments when he says to himself, “There but for the grace of God go I.”
Rowley said he felt the pain of the families involved.
Rowley noted that the security services in Trinidad and Tobago was being provided with all the resources necessary to deal with crime.
He said it was costing the Government $41 million to maintain the Ministry of National Security helicopters “to fight a handful of criminals”. He said the Government was working on reducing that figure to $15 million.
The Prime Minister said the fight against crime should become a “national crusade” where citizens support the police and security services.
He pleaded with citizens to come forward with information which can assist officers in finding criminals.
