Convicted of murder, Mitchel Joseph is escorted by armed police back to a waiting vehicle, then on to prison
Sentencing for capital murder has always been a contentious issue, especially where the death penalty is sought. Many will remember the case of the Cathedral killers where the Office of Director of Public Prosecutions proposed death as the only punishment for Kim John and Francis Phillip. This case has been argued to the Privy Council and back. The Privy Council ruled it should be re-tried.
DPP Victoria Charles-Clarke is once again calling for the death penalty in a murder case. Scores of people, most noticeably members of the Royal St Lucia Police Force, gathered in the Criminal High Court on Thursday February 3 for the sentencing hearing of Mitchel Joseph alias ‘Bage’ of Ciceron, Castries.
Joseph was convicted on December 6, 2010 of murdering Police Constable 5 Lester Garvin Remy on April 27, 2008. The trial lasted two weeks. Upon conviction, Charles-Clarke indicated to the court the Crown would be seeking the death penalty. Submissions in this regard were to be heard on January 20, 2011. When the date arrived, following the DPP’s written submission in support of the death penalty on January 19, defense attorney Al Elliot was granted leave by the court to file a written response. Justice Kenneth Benjamin adjourned the case to February 3.
On February 3, Charles-Clarke addressed the court on the grounds for her submission. Her first argument was that under Section 86 (1) of St Lucia’s Criminal Code, it is considered capital murder to kill a member of the Royal St Lucia Police Force in the execution of his/her duties. She reviewed the facts of the case to support her position. Elliot counter argued his client was indicted for the offense of murder under Section 85 of the Criminal Code. He told the court had the DPP intended to seek the death penalty in relation to Remy’s death then his client should have been charged under Section 86 which specifically deals with the offense and penalty of capital murder.
The DPP further argued given the heinous nature of the crime, the death penalty should be considered. Remy suffered four gunshot wounds at close range. Pathologist Dr Stephen King told the court during the trial Remy had little chance of survival. Elliot disagreed with the DPP saying the incident was not premeditated based on evidence led by the prosecution. It was a spontaneous apprehension which went awry.
Additionally, Charles-Clarke argued Joseph’s behaviour towards Remy was callous, wanton and unprovoked. She went further to say the defendant showed no remorse by statements he made to police officers and the deceased’s girlfriend. Elliot countered saying, coming from the prosecution’s evidence on the manner in which the police executed their duties that day, the issues of provocation and self-defense arose unhindered. Elliot refuted the DPP’s arguments saying the statements made expressed sorrow at the incident. On this point, the DPP reminded the court Joseph was three feet away from Remy when he opened fire.
The defendant’s psychiatric report post-conviction did not give any indication of mental disorder or disease. Charles-Clarke adjoined this to Joseph’s six previous convictions. She went further to add, according to the report, Joseph had a troubled childhood which led him astray. On the other hand, Elliot told the court Joseph had an absentee father. There was no father figure in his life to guide him.
Elliot raised the issue that Joseph has a troubled son in Grade Six and the system should not perpetuate a cycle by removing a father from his child’s life. The DPP countered saying there was no evidence to show Joseph played any major part in the child’s life.
The DPP opined there was no prospect of rehabilitation for the defendant while Elliot contested since his incarceration in 2008, the defendant has exhibited signs of rehabilitation.
Given the rising murder rate, the DPP believes a message must be sent to society as to the value of human life. Elliot argued every human being had a right to life including those convicted of murder.
Justice Kenneth Benjamin reserved his sentencing judgment for Wednesday February 9.
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I hear them begging for mercy, i hear them pleading for sympathy. The same sympathy that the murderer didnt show the cop.
THE DEATH PENALTY IN NO WAY AFFECTS THE CRIME RATE!!! NUMEROUS STUDIES HAVE PROVEN THIS FINDING!!! WHY THEREFORE ARE WE IN THE REGION SO HELL BENT ON BRINGING BACK THE DEATHPENALTY….IN FACT WE WANT TO BRING BACK THE MOST HEINEOUS FORM OF EXECUTION… HANGING…HISTORICALLY, AN ACT PERFORMED ON BLACKS!!! WE AS A RACE HAVE HAD SOME BAD HISTORY WITH HANGING…YET, OUR LEADERS ARE SO HELL BENT ON EXECUTIONS, THAT IT IS THE AXIS ON WHICH THE FORMATION OF OUR FINAL FINAL COURT OF APPEAL RESTS! YES I SAID IT! WE NEED TO GET RID OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL SO THAT WE CAN HANG EACH OTHER! AND YES, I MAY BE A BLEEDING HEART LIBERAL, BUT ANSWER ME THIS: WHERE DO OUR MURDERERS COME FROM? ARE THEY FROM THE UPPER ECHELONS OR THE PSEUDO MIDDLE CLASS, WE HAVE IN ST. LUCIA? OR ARE THEY THE RESULT OF BROKEN COMMUNITIES AND HOMES, POOR SCHOOLS AND A RETARDED SOCIAL STRUCTURE? ARE WE GOING TO TELEVISE HANGINGS? HOW WILL ONE INDIVIDUAL BE AFFECTED BY THE HANGING OF ANOTHER WHOM THEY MAY NOT EVEN KNOW? CAN WE WITHSTAND THE SHITSTORM FROM HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATES, AND ITS IMPACT ON TOURISM ONCE WE BEGIN HANGING? WHY DONT WE HAVE JUST HAVE BURNING AT THE STAKES OR GO ALL OUT WITH SOME GOOD OLD STONING? OH, YES I REMEMBER: HE WHO CAST THE FIRST STONE……
While hanging sounds like a solution it is in fact just a revenge reaction. To bring back the death penalty would send us backwards to a barbarous time. Law and order is really is about strong community ties and not necessarily about rule and existence based on fear.
wow! great arguments. u guys almost have me convinced that the death penalty will not serve as a deterrant to potential criminals. but it would be interesting to hear what u guys would say if those senseless killings touches home. not just home, home home, like your child, your only child, your mom and to some, your dad. just wondering…
Very true homeboy, i will give you a scenario. My sister is a nurse , i was complaining about the service people receives at the emergency department at VH. She immediately took offense supporting the establishment. One day her sibling fell sick, she decide to take him to VH, after seating and waiting for hours she decide to go in and help the situation because she is a qualified RN and she work at that same hospital. The nurses on duty were so angry, they took that as an offense, claiming that she has no right to be in there. She had to take he child away and take him to a private doctor the next day. They reported her to the hospital administrator, just because she offered to help. Then she came back complaining to me about the treatment she received. That is how people like TOOT TOO BOOSHE will re act when one of these criminals kill his or her mother, child, father etc.
This is why we have a created a justice system. The justice system is there to ensure that I am not able to get my hands on whoever may happen to kill someone close to me. My feelings on the matter would therefore be immaterial to the fate of the individual. Hold up! If your point hold true and we take it to the extreme, why dont we just give the would be killer over to the family of the deceased, and save the taxpayer the trouble of a trial! The same trial that we would want for ourselves? Our actions must have purpose. Without purpose humanity is doomed. What is the purpose of hanging someone? Is our justice system sufficient enough to find the right people guilty? Do you know that people have gone to the gallows on hearsay? Can one really receive a fair trial in St. Lucia? If we can consider execution justice, and cry out for the hangman with such vigour, why dont we consider education, and other social interventions justice…social justice that is…and cry out for the same with such vigour? No! we won’t…because we are caught up in our lovely little lives trying to get into the gated communities of choice, leaving behind the same individuals who find themselves on deathrow! There is a real link between social status or class and who is found guilty, and who makes it to deathrow! I am not absolving anyone of their crimes, as I am a staunch believer in personal choice and accountability, however, statistics from many studies have proven my substantive point….Where we stand on the social ladder, which directly affects life chances, has a directly link to whether one commits a crime and finds himself facing the gallows and even his ability to defend himself, ie, a proper legal defense!
yeah but before we start hanging …we must fix our justice system,,,,make sure we dont delay justice….we have people sitting in jail who se cases have not even been heard…..too many innocent men have had to sit in jail for years all over the world……vigilanteism is whats killing our youth…plus no trust in our justice system…….and people ask me why i was so mad at kenny…darn it he was suppose to fix that….oh well…i am ready to give him a secound chance,,,,cause prudent en redy yet……as for king…..i am not that stupid,,,,tis not working,,,,,,stlucia needs a leader who can motivate and teach the masses…..with drastic new approaches like legal herb and more jail time for gun crimes and rape….hanging to me is barbaric….why not just shoot them in the head……..bless
You said it !
Love this!bet you they would be singing a different song! it’s time we start looking at these problems, and think!what would I have done if I am opening my door and saw a man raping my wife,daughter or finding them in a pool of blood and the killer is standing next to them and i am arm! well I guess some will say,wait here let me call the police! close to home!close to home! well what would I have done? empty my pistol on them and after walk towards them and start hitting them on the head with it until someone get me out. This is my,my,my, close to home attitude so I feel what others are feeling sometimes.
Let the jury decide, If they say death So be it. If he killed the human without provocation and the jury say quilty, I say implement the law. Don’t forget the choices we make today shape our world tomorrow.
String m’up!
Here we are in the second month of the year, and we’ve experienced atleast 4 Murders, 4 MURDERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Quite honestly, the criminals who are bent on taking someones life really do not care. It’s been proven last year into this year so far.
I remember growing up as a kid and hearing about the “Death Penalty” Scared me senceless. Granted, the community was not experiencing such a high murder rate.
Having said that, I strongly believe if the penalty for taking the life of a Law Enforcement Officer, whilst executing his/her duty is the “Death Penalty” ,then,the penalty should prevail.
I hear one of the previous posts mentioned “Human Rights”. I am not sure if that writer remember the incident in Signapoure in 1995, with the American Kid who Sprayed Graffiti on the walls in that country.
His penalty was being cained in the public square, which was served justly onto him.
Human Rights stepped in and try to prevent the penalty. However, that was the LAW OF THE LAND. I think we need to start valuing life a bit more. Then, and only then, we will see a reduction in vicious and heinous acts like this which has plagued St.Lucia for the past 5 years.
So here we go trying to imitate those dumb Canadians in creating two classes of humanity, cops whose life are more precious than yours, and you the lackey public who will buy all the crap sold to you. Laws are always meant to be applied equally to create equality, anything that creates an imbalance is simply entering the realm of corruption. You don’t have to take the job of cop, it is just a job which is no more and no less dangerous than other professions. Living is a dangerous process, don’t be fooled by propaganda.
Wow, We’re so passionate about taking a life. Most of the civilized world is in uproar over the death penalty, yet we in little St.Lucia feel compelled to do just that.
Our justice system is laughable, our social and economic model is even worse. Do you honestly believe that hanging people is the answer. Lets not take into consideration that it is inhumane on every level.
Our leaders should be more careful of what this means. The precedence is one that will have a lasting effect. I grew up with Garvin, my true, ture, brethren. i do not believe on any level that killing this guy will make me or his mom feel any better. And for those who i’ve heard say ‘now he can finally rest in peace’ I say to you that i don;t think you understood what he stood for.
But for St.lucia’s sake, let’s instead challenge our leaders to nature our youth before they get to the point where there is not way but downwards. Lets use more social programs, lets, revamp our corrupt police force and justice system, trying to cover ourselves by killing someone in the end is simply saying, i will only react to problems after they occur.
So King, Kenny, lets show us that you aren’t that intellectually any morally so bankrupt, that you can’t envisioned this. St.Lucia deserves better than this.
I do not support killing another person, under any circumstance. Especially if it is so premeditated, especially in this Christian Society. We’re such hypocrites its not even funny. We can do better than this and we should aim to do so.Hangings are not the answer.
Wow! Trenchent arguments. U guys sound rather verse in jurisprudence. Am not. I just rely on google. But my commonsense tells me that these sound arguments only depend on your side of the divide. DDP gave such a trenchent argument of why they should hang homeboy by the balls. 10 years from now when she is no longer on the government payroll and she is in private practice I could only imagine she arguing that the very strand of hair on her client`s head be saved. Folks, folks the victims are not impressed with the pedantry, all they want is JUSTICE. The law of the land dictates that punishments for certain crime is hanging. Why not execute the law of the land. Now if you dont like such laws talk to your ministers to amend them, but for now it is, give the people the justice they crying out for. We live in small community where basically everybody knows everbody. Through no fault of our government we may not be able to match north america with the resourses they use to fighting crime but we know who the goons are…if not family, they simply a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend. TOOT TOO BOOSHE your argument as powerful as it is, towards the end it appealed to the greater audience where i live in north america. Boy so many people being convicted innocently. But I dare u, I say again I dare (without a DNA lab) u tell me one st lucian that u have have REASONABLE DOUBT, JUST A DOUBT that the government has hanged wrongly. If its on the law books, can the victim get justice? God is a God of love but he is also a God of justice. Now we dont want to go to bible times where u had to pay for the life u take with your very life… Thats for another show. Christians use the bible as their pricipal book. Caesar uses the constitution.
HOMEBOY..I MUST SAY WELL SAID…UNLESS THOSES SPEAKIN ARE RELATED TO BAGE..BUT HOW EVER I BELIEVE THAT ST.LUCIA HAS BEEN DELAYED ON DA DEATH SENTENCIN OF DEM VIGOROUS AND HEARTLESS CRIMINALS..THEY ACTUALLY SHUD B HANGED NOT JUST BY THE NECK BUT THE BALLS ALSO ..M JUST SAYIN I CYANT AIT TILL HE GOES INTO THAT ROPE AND DEN AGAIN WHAT AM HAPPY ABOUT IS DA SWARGG MUST B THINKIN O MEHN AM GOONA DIE SOON ..:d..M JUS SAYIN
everything has its negatives and positives..its true that even murderers have their right to live…but killing another person should not be taken lightly…the only good enough measure available st lucia’s already meagre resources…is to go with the death penalty…jails are crowded and criminals are roaming free..think about it….your immediately family member may be the next victim to some disgusting relentless killer
Wow it seems like the Justice system only works for the Police Offices who in my opinion are just as corrupted as the criminals. What about the other murdered victims? How has the Justic System helped their families?
the culture of death thats destroying stlucia must stop…let us as lucians demand change….we should boycott this years independance celebrations…..stay home…keep your kids at home……enough is enough……we the people can make stlucia a better place…we must we can we will….for helen…for your kids….let us demand a referendum on hanging…increase of jail time and fines for gun crimes…rape…..child abuse….spouse abuse…..smokeing in public….ganja decriminalisation,,,,or not…we as stlucians can talk or blog all day but unless we take action …helen will bleed to death…do it for helen…..bless
Good….this criminal got exactly what he deserved.
Well I strongly believe if you are able to kill someone, you should be made suffer before you are put to death. In this case, I strongly feel that the fear of death should be made felt every day, until is done. Wake him up every hour of the night and tell him it is time let’s go. Until you really place that rope around his neck. If the fool can use a gun to kill someone, the old time way of doing things should be done to him and that put that rope around his neck. My his soul be with him.
While most people rejoice that he has been sentenced to death, do we realize that he has just been sentenced to free living at the luxurious hotel on the hill overlooking the majestic ocean? Do we realize that he doesn’t have to worry about where his next meal is coming from , where his next soap bar will be coming from for his shower?
This surely doesn’t mean a damn thing to me that he has been sent to death because it may take another few years before he can even be mentioned again , while the family of the victim has to live with this memory and yearly anniversary of the gruesome incident .
WE need to stop hiding behind the nasty truth that the system is just so screwed up in our little island. Perfect example, the cathedral murderers .. those guys are well taken care of while the victims have to live with this forever.
oh i know when this will be taken care of ..when something drastic happens to a member of the human rights activists family members , then there will be 3 to 4 hangings per day , but who knows, that day might be pretty late or by the looks of the crime rate is slu now , might be not too far from today .
If you live by the gun,what’s wrong with death by the gun,he should face a fireing squad,and please remember when did the human right lobby did anything for Saint Lucia ? capital punishment is a big deterrent,as soon as capital punisment is in force in my opinon a lot of scumbags,low life activity will cease
That’s not only the case of he shot the guy! when the guys told him, Man you just kill Bage! His reply was F*** Bage,no remoss,no sympathy up to a day like today,you know what that means? if I have to do it I will do it again. I would have tie him in the casket and lay the dead body on him and lay them to rest.
This sort of discussion on St Lucian hurts my heart. My beloved Island now a sin bin, where it’s people cry and bay for the blood of another. What is this I ask myself the is it the times of the French Reveloution? Come on St ucia we need to be better than this, we need to move forward not only in our actions but also in our thoughts.