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Kill or be killed!
Many gangsters would rather die than face humiliation in prison
By HG HELPS Editor-at-Large Investigative Coverage Unit icu@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, July 05, 2009
THEY wield considerable power, authority and influence on the mean streets of some of Jamaica's toughest inner-city communities, earning themselves such epitaphs as 'cold', 'dog-heart', 'brazen' and even 'fearless'.
BENJAMIN... some of them feel humiliated when they are brought before the court
These are the youth who, like in the American Wild West, have vowed to go down fighting, rather than go to prison to face humiliation, including forced homosexuality.
"If me and police clash, is either them or me, but me naaw go a prison," said one youth who spoke to the Sunday Observer on condition of anonymity for this probe into certain behavioural patterns among gangsters.
"Dem haffi kill me fus," declared the outspoken young man who resides in one of the capital city's more infamous slum communities. Aged 24, he was jailed once after being charged with illegal possession of firearm but was later acquitted after spending time in a police lock-up.
"Bway, me spend a whole heap a time in a jail a wait pon de case (to be tried), but nutten never gwaan. In a jail nutten caan gwaan, because police a watch de man dem and sometime the jail cell dem no dat full, but me hear say prison life different," he said.
Police have often seen the empty eyes behind the guns spitting death. Senior Superintendent of Police Calvin Benjamin knows men who have boldly stated that they would rather die than be captured by the police and carted off to prison upon conviction for a crime.
IRONS... some people believe that death is better than living
"A number of accused persons are repeat offenders and one of the things that they don't like is to be arrested by the police. They would rather be killed than be arrested," said Benjamin, the head of operations at the Criminal Investigation Bureau.
"For example, when they are released back on the street, it has an effect on them. If you speak to some youth on the road they will say to you, 'Boss, me rather dead than go to prison because when you go to prison this going happen to you and that going happen to you. But when you dead you don't know what happen'.
Some of them feel humiliated when they are brought before the court, because they believe they are being belittled," Benjamin added.
Another youth from an inner-city community in north St Andrew, and who subscribes to the 'kill or be killed' stance, gave his experience. "Police lock me up already and me get bail without them even charging me. But if me find meself in a position weh dem ago send me a prison, me haffi find a way out," the unemployed 23-year-old youth said.
NEITA... a lot of people embark on a course of conduct that will result in death
The social and physical conditions that prevail in penal institutions have combined to deter him from committing serious crimes. And the stories that he has heard of prisoners having to undergo severe stress, strain and pressure from other inmates have convinced him even more that a stint in prison is not for him.
SSP Benjamin maintains that many of today's youth have made up their minds about what they would do if confronted by the police.
"Most of my time in the force has been spent in the inner city with the exception of two years in Linstead (St Catherine). Some of the youth in Western Kingston or Eastern Kingston tell me plainly 'Boss me rather get killed than go to prison because you see when you go to prison you haffi mix with all type a people, and when you come back out a man say you are homosexual and this and that, but when me dead and gone me no know. Me naaw live for nutten'.
"That is why some of these guys are so cold, because they are of the view that they are not living for anything and when a man is going to look at you and say, 'bway me naaw live for nutten you know. death no mean nutten to me', he is not going to respect your life nor the life of anyone else," Benjamin said.
Psychiatrist Dr Aggrey Irons puts most of the blame for this philosophy on the emergence of television, the cellular telephone, lottery games and the influence of deejays on the society.
"What is happening in the world today is that some people believe that death is better than living. In the eastern part of the world for example, suicide bombers have a different outlook on life. With us in this region, the advent of TV, cellular, lottery etc, all the things that make life happen fast matter now.
"There is a feeling among young men that 'If I can't make it, I might as well fake it. If I can't fake it, I might as well take it', meaning the bullet.
"A youth will say, 'I might as well go out in a blaze of glory, because you know in prison there is this homophobic feeling that a man is going to feel up my bottom and so on'.
"There are many of these people around. The problem is also caused by the technology, the speed and the music industry. The lyrics of the deejays and the lifestyles of the deejays fuel it," Dr Irons said.
Defence attorney, K Churchill Neita - who has handled many criminal cases - told the Sunday Observer that he had met men who would rather die than surrender if cornered by police.
"A lot of people embark on a course of conduct that will result in death," the noted Queen's Counsel said.
"They would rather go down fighting as they can't stand the idea of going to prison for a long time. A lot of the gangsters like 'Sandokhan' and 'Natty Morgan' made up their minds from early that they would not be captured," Neita said of the slain badmen of the 1980s.
"I was talking to a young lady from the inner city at my office one day and asked her why women would want to become pregnant by these gangsters. The lady held her head down and said 'Mr Neita, I am one of them'. It's a badge of honour for these men.
"Part of the feeling when a gangster is captured by police is what the community members have to say, like 'Bway, man get soft and give up without a fight'.
"But a lot of the men when they are faced with prison become weak. They have no authority in prison and they are severely restricted," Neita added.
Many gangsters would rather die than face humiliation in prison
By HG HELPS Editor-at-Large Investigative Coverage Unit icu@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, July 05, 2009
THEY wield considerable power, authority and influence on the mean streets of some of Jamaica's toughest inner-city communities, earning themselves such epitaphs as 'cold', 'dog-heart', 'brazen' and even 'fearless'.
BENJAMIN... some of them feel humiliated when they are brought before the court These are the youth who, like in the American Wild West, have vowed to go down fighting, rather than go to prison to face humiliation, including forced homosexuality.
"If me and police clash, is either them or me, but me naaw go a prison," said one youth who spoke to the Sunday Observer on condition of anonymity for this probe into certain behavioural patterns among gangsters.
"Dem haffi kill me fus," declared the outspoken young man who resides in one of the capital city's more infamous slum communities. Aged 24, he was jailed once after being charged with illegal possession of firearm but was later acquitted after spending time in a police lock-up.
"Bway, me spend a whole heap a time in a jail a wait pon de case (to be tried), but nutten never gwaan. In a jail nutten caan gwaan, because police a watch de man dem and sometime the jail cell dem no dat full, but me hear say prison life different," he said.
Police have often seen the empty eyes behind the guns spitting death. Senior Superintendent of Police Calvin Benjamin knows men who have boldly stated that they would rather die than be captured by the police and carted off to prison upon conviction for a crime.
IRONS... some people believe that death is better than living "A number of accused persons are repeat offenders and one of the things that they don't like is to be arrested by the police. They would rather be killed than be arrested," said Benjamin, the head of operations at the Criminal Investigation Bureau.
"For example, when they are released back on the street, it has an effect on them. If you speak to some youth on the road they will say to you, 'Boss, me rather dead than go to prison because when you go to prison this going happen to you and that going happen to you. But when you dead you don't know what happen'.
Some of them feel humiliated when they are brought before the court, because they believe they are being belittled," Benjamin added.
Another youth from an inner-city community in north St Andrew, and who subscribes to the 'kill or be killed' stance, gave his experience. "Police lock me up already and me get bail without them even charging me. But if me find meself in a position weh dem ago send me a prison, me haffi find a way out," the unemployed 23-year-old youth said.
NEITA... a lot of people embark on a course of conduct that will result in death The social and physical conditions that prevail in penal institutions have combined to deter him from committing serious crimes. And the stories that he has heard of prisoners having to undergo severe stress, strain and pressure from other inmates have convinced him even more that a stint in prison is not for him.
SSP Benjamin maintains that many of today's youth have made up their minds about what they would do if confronted by the police.
"Most of my time in the force has been spent in the inner city with the exception of two years in Linstead (St Catherine). Some of the youth in Western Kingston or Eastern Kingston tell me plainly 'Boss me rather get killed than go to prison because you see when you go to prison you haffi mix with all type a people, and when you come back out a man say you are homosexual and this and that, but when me dead and gone me no know. Me naaw live for nutten'.
"That is why some of these guys are so cold, because they are of the view that they are not living for anything and when a man is going to look at you and say, 'bway me naaw live for nutten you know. death no mean nutten to me', he is not going to respect your life nor the life of anyone else," Benjamin said.
Psychiatrist Dr Aggrey Irons puts most of the blame for this philosophy on the emergence of television, the cellular telephone, lottery games and the influence of deejays on the society.
"What is happening in the world today is that some people believe that death is better than living. In the eastern part of the world for example, suicide bombers have a different outlook on life. With us in this region, the advent of TV, cellular, lottery etc, all the things that make life happen fast matter now.
"There is a feeling among young men that 'If I can't make it, I might as well fake it. If I can't fake it, I might as well take it', meaning the bullet.
"A youth will say, 'I might as well go out in a blaze of glory, because you know in prison there is this homophobic feeling that a man is going to feel up my bottom and so on'.
"There are many of these people around. The problem is also caused by the technology, the speed and the music industry. The lyrics of the deejays and the lifestyles of the deejays fuel it," Dr Irons said.
Defence attorney, K Churchill Neita - who has handled many criminal cases - told the Sunday Observer that he had met men who would rather die than surrender if cornered by police.
"A lot of people embark on a course of conduct that will result in death," the noted Queen's Counsel said.
"They would rather go down fighting as they can't stand the idea of going to prison for a long time. A lot of the gangsters like 'Sandokhan' and 'Natty Morgan' made up their minds from early that they would not be captured," Neita said of the slain badmen of the 1980s.
"I was talking to a young lady from the inner city at my office one day and asked her why women would want to become pregnant by these gangsters. The lady held her head down and said 'Mr Neita, I am one of them'. It's a badge of honour for these men.
"Part of the feeling when a gangster is captured by police is what the community members have to say, like 'Bway, man get soft and give up without a fight'.
"But a lot of the men when they are faced with prison become weak. They have no authority in prison and they are severely restricted," Neita added.