Justice, truth be ours forever

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Strength to Love, 1963


I have been reading with interest the case of policeman Lyn-Shue and his confession of submitting falsified evidence to the court in the murder trial of 20 year old Jason James. The reactions coming in have been interesting and the matter of evidence presentation was a bit a surprising to me. I did not know that it was possible to submit evidence against a person without the identification of the source. However, according to the Jamaica Observer “Section 31D (e) made provision for statements to be admissible in criminal proceedings in certain circumstances, where the witness cannot be present in court, such as in death, grave illness, if the witness cannot be found after all reasonable steps had been taken to locate him or her, or if the witness had been kept away by threats of bodily harm and no reasonable steps can be taken to provide protection.”

As the human rights groups have stated, this is a wide open doorway for incidents of this kind to occur. The possibility of falsification of evidence is greater when no-one is held accountable for what is said. Evidence can always be presented by “someone” who cannot be identified or cross examined. I believe this seriously breaches a defendant’s right to be able to defend himself against allegations made against him and no doubt have already resulted in the miscarriage of justice.

The officer, Lyn-Shue was commended for his honesty by officers at various levels of the JCF and was declared to be an example for others to emulate. He was also given a suspension of two months from duty and an inquest has been opened up to review cases in which he was involved. Some officers have complained that this sentence is too harsh and sends a negative message to those who would come forward to do the same. Others are asking for an amnesty period so that others similarly inclined may come forward. I can see the merit of this amnesty in allowing the correction of injustice. It may encourage more persons to come forward, but my ambivalence derives from the fact there will be no consequences for such confessors. Maybe I should consider the greater picture that it will help the country move ahead and present an invaluable opportunity for openness in the reform of the justice system.

Yet, I continue to reflect on the fact that Officer Lyn-Shue, sworn to uphold the law, serve and protect Jamaican citizens, went to court and lied on an innocent man in a murder trial in an effort to get him wrongly convicted to Jail. It’s hard to move beyond these facts. Yes Officer Lyn-Shue is to be commended for doing the right thing but he should also face serious consequences for his action. The sentence against him should match the gravity of the offence. Strong disciplinary measures are needed to deter police officers, soldiers and others involved in the Judiciary system from such forms of conduct. We only need to look at the number of extra-judicial killings to see this. If this strong discipline was already being enforced our judicial system would not be in the mess that it is now in. Nonetheless, I unequivocally condemn those other officers who have accused Officer Lyn-Shue of being a traitor. They are the real traitors…traitors to their country and its people. Aristotle says “it [is] the mark of a brave man to face things that are, and seem, terrible for a man, because it is noble to do so and disgraceful not to do so.” Their disgrace is not speaking the truth.

PM Golding is to be commended for his order to have a review of the Evidence Act. The Jamaica Observer of January 22, 2008 has said that Golding has asked Attorney-General Dorothy Lightbourne to "advise on measures that may be necessary to prevent the perversion of justice by the admission into evidence of statements, the authenticity of which may be open to question but the authors of which are not available to be examined".