January 15, 2014

Dear Sir,

I would like to add my voice and concern on the subject matter of Cheryl Pooley’s letter to the Editor in The Royal Gazette, titled ‘Life should mean Life’.

It is ridiculous and incomprehensible that life sentences are handed down when the meaning of the word ‘life’ has nothing to do with life. It is like saying S Hill is a straight road — and everyone nods their heads yes. It is like going into a bar and asking for a pint of beer, and the bartender pores you a dribble in the bottom of the glass, then calls it a pint — and that is fine with you. Or to find yourself in court for speeding at 65kph and you are told that 65 really means 195kph — and you murmur “quite right, quite right”.

Those are just linguistic reasons for wanting a word to mean what it is supposed to mean. Other reasons why ‘Life should mean life’ were pointed out in Ms Pooley’s excellent letter. I fear though that this stupidity will continue and I see as one factor for this, and it is only one factor — that those who make the laws of our land and those who use those laws to judge us — they all live in Ivory Towers.

There was an example of this not so long ago when we learned from this newspaper that the son of a politician was given what appeared to many of us as special treatment. They live in Ivory Towers.

A letter in yesterday’s The Royal Gazette pointed out the ludicrous and expensive security at the Dame Lois Browne Evans Building. The security is there to protect those same people who are responsible for many of the lawbreakers returning to the streets in record time to continue to pray upon the innocent. They live in Ivory Towers.

These Ivory Tower dwellers, politicians, Magistrates and Judges, are supposed to protect us, the law abiding majority in society — but why should they? They are all right Jack; they are protected and privileged beyond what we, the people, can dream about.

The Ivory Tower people mull over a killer’s jail time for cold blooded murder and politicians change nothing. Day after day after day, all we get from them are words, words, words. As Eliza Dolittle said: “I’m so sick of words”.

I don’t think we can look for any help from them; they don’t have the energy or the desire — or the imagination — OR THE NEED — to give protection to the innocent and to the victims. Having lots of money will help an individual of course, but that is just another Ivory Tower. Meanwhile, we the ordinary people, down on the street, continue to become victims.

Sincerely,

Mark Emmerson