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| courtesy Saint Lucian Patriot |
The Leader of Opposition in a press conference stated that the homicide count thus far for 2011 stood at 44; so did Claudius Francis on his “Straight Up” programme. However, in most of the newscasts on the media Houses this week, the figure reported is 33.
Is there confusion, a misunderstanding? Or is it a consensus among them? Or is this the figure given to them by the authorities. The irrefutable mathematical fact is “33 + 11 = 44”.
According to WIKIPEDIA, homicide “refers to the act of a human killing another human.”
It therefore follows that any “act of human killing” irrespective of who commits it is a homicide. Hence, all human killings are homicides (without exception); all murders are homicides but not all homicides are murders.
Now here comes the crux: homicides may be categorized as criminal or non-criminal. For example, homicides sanctioned by the state are non-criminal; but the bottom line is they are still categorized as homicides. Capital punishment is an obvious example, where the state determines that a person should die.
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| courtesy: Saint Lucian Patriot |
Members of “law enforcement entities” are also allowed “to commit justified homicides within certain parameters which, when met, do not usually result in prosecution”.
Homicides committed in action during war are usually not subject to criminal prosecution either. Generally, a soldier killing an enemy in battle is not deemed a criminal act except in certain non-combative circumstances.
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| courtesy Saint Lucian Patriot |
If homicide is defined as “the killing of one human by another”, then why are police killings not homicides? Yes, they may be justified or excused homicide (just as automatism, self-defense, defense of dwelling/habitation, insanity defense, defense of infancy, prevention of a crime and war are), but they must be counted as homicides.
Hence, Kenny is right when he stated that St. Lucia has recorded 44 homicides in 2011; and not 33 as reported in the press. 33 + 11 = 44; and that’s a mathematical fact!
I am therefore calling on the media to get it right. If they are interested in criminal homicides, then they must be honest with their listeners/viewers and they should say so. Trying to bend the truth about the number of homicides is unacceptable journalistic behaviour.
ps: Most of the background literature for this post came from Wikepedia
ps: Most of the background literature for this post came from Wikepedia
I am no longer amazed at how the St. Lucian media for the most part allows itself to be steamrolled into painting a more flattering picture of the flambeau government than reality bears out. This attempt to impose a media siege on the Labour Party began even while the SLP was in office, and its main architect was a former Senator whose method is to bully and intimidate other media practititioners to the point where they become fearful of saying, writing or portraying anything that may come across as flattering to the SLP and its leader - or to at least give them a fair shake. To do that is to invite a relentless barrage of attacks on you and your media house as being hacks and butt kissers. He also hogs up airtime on all the radio and TV talk shows in order to drown out the voices of everyone who disagrees with him or who is sympathetic to the SLP.
ReplyDeleteI forgot to say: CONGRATULATIONS CHOISEUL POWERHOUSE FOR STANDING UP TO RICK WAYNE AND BUCKING THE TIDE OF PUSILANIMOUS ACQUIESCENCE TO THIS IMPERIOUS BULLY!
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