AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums Belize Life Living in Belize Sad day for AC

Let me add some thoughts to what I think is a good thing going on with this topic. That being concerned people starting to recognize a problem and wanting to find solutions.

I remember the first police officer assigned to San Pedro. His name was Smitty. You would only know Smitty was the police officer if you knew him. He was most always in civilian clothes with the exception of when some official event required him to wear his uniform. And, he very seldom was needed to perform any official duty as there was hardly ever the need for a policeman. The community, I stress the word community, was opposed to any kind of illegal activity and it was unaccepted for anyone to break the law. One instance that exemplifies this is a son of one of the fishing guides that I knew well was caught stealing an outboard motor. The family was so embarrassed that they expelled their own son from the island and did not allow him to return until he had convinced them he realized his sin and would never do it again. True story.

My point being, the first step in solving this problem is for the community to have the standard that crime is not acceptable. The community must come together. San Pedronos, gringos, expats, other Belizeans, all. Crime against anyone is a crime against all. Somehow it must be understood that all who live on AC are effected adversely when crime is committed.

I certainly do not have the answer on how you get all of the different factions on the island to come together, but I firmly believe that the only solution that will work is to have all working together for a common goal.

So sorry to learn of the death of Mr Almendarez. I've been reading your posts with interest and you certainly have reason to be concerned. Without an honest and dedicated police force, not to mention the lack of sorely needed equipment to perform their duties, you are facing real problems. Good luck sorting it all out. A large showing of community support at the funeral will send a strong message to all involved.

I'm no behavioral psychologist and we ALL know nothing will bring this poor man back to life but I'm of the opinion there has to be a system in place to deter such behavior. I am sure there are just as many studies that have been done that do support the death penalty as there are that do not support it. Where did you earn your degree, collyK? They failed to teach you how to spell behavioral.

Family members have just returned from a weeks stay in your paradise and had only positive things to tell upon their return. Beautiful beaches, top-notch snorkeling, a productive fishing trip with a super guide (Louis, I think), great restaurants and only two days of rain. They were especially impressed with the cleanliness of your shops and the resort where they stayed and not one bug was seen. As far as drugs--I specifically asked and they were offered drugs only on Caye Caulker. Verdict: They definitely would return to AC for future vacations. No surprise to you residents, I'm sure.

Semper Fi, Kris48, and all brave Marines!

I am sad to learn of this loss. A close friend of mine was murdered two weeks ago and I know the deep grief this brings. I understand too the anger, fear and frustration that comes with a situation like this. My prayers are with this family and the small community of San Pedro.
I am pleased to see calls for working together to come up with creative ways of deterring future acts like this, as well as other types of criminal activity. I especially appreciate bywarren's comments which note that family and community attitudes go a long way toward determining what will be acceptable in the community. I'm also not surprised to see many calls for execution. The desire for vengeance has long been nurtured in our societies and generally promises a satisfaction and relief it can never bring. I'm not against punishment - it serves a variety of purposes, the most important of which should be to protect society from future harm. That said, there is little debate that capital punishment does not serve as a deterrent to future homicides.
Studies which compare homicide trends in states and countries that practice capital punishment with those that do not consistently show that capital punishment has no effect on homicide rates. The first of the comparative studies of capital punishment was done by Thorsten Sellin in 1959. He was a sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania, one of the pioneers of scientific criminology and instrumental in setting up the government agencies that collect statistics on crime. Every comparison he made led him to the "inevitable conclusion . . . that executions have no discernable effect on homicide rates." His work has been replicated repeatedly as new data have become available, and all of the replications have confirmed his finding that capital punishment does not deter homicide.
There have also been national and international comparative studies on the impact of abolishing the death penalty. In an examination of 14 countries that abolished the death penalty, it was found that abolition did not cause an increase in homicide rates. The research in both these areas has been convincing to most criminologists.
On the other hand, there have been some studies that use econometric modeling, also known as multiple regression modeling, some of which have found a deterrent effect in the death penalty and some which have not. In general these studies have been found to lack sufficient empirical data to be of much value. This method has consistently failed to offer reliable and valid results in studies of social problems where the data are very limited. Its most successful use is in making predictions in areas where there is a large flow of data for testing. The econometric literature on capital punishment has been carefully reviewed by several prominent economists and found wanting. There is simply too little data and too many ways to manipulate it. The Death Penalty Information Center provides fairly balanced information on this topic. (www.deathpenaltyinfo.org)
I'm an attorney - 7 years as a criminal prosecutor - started law school as a strong proponent of the death penalty and went to work feeling the same way. Education is an interesting thing - almost 10 years later I resigned my job as a prosecutor because I was unwilling to prosecute a capital case. There are lots of reasons (moral, ethical, religious, fiscal, legal, due process considerations) to be against the death penalty, and really only one reason to be in favor of, but former posters are correct - everyone is entitled to their own view. And it is also unlikely an argument on this board is going to change anyone's mind either way.
I pray the citizens of San Pedro are able to come together to find workable solutions to the problems they face which are common to us all.

The alternative to the death penalty is life...something that Belize cannot offer or promise. until that problem is solved, death is the only solution.

Collyk, so are you living next door to a half way house for violent criminals? Do you donate 1/2 of your salary to the poor junkies down the street, who can not help their addictive ways?
Or is talk cheap?

Chris, as one who pays as little taxes as I can I detest what I am about to say. Perhaps SP needs it's own tax. Maybe a sales tax, or room tax, or add on property tax could be used to get some revenue for the town. Just an idea.

Jesse - it's my understanding that there has not been an execution in Belize since 1985. While death by hanging is mandatory for murder in Belize, the prerogative of mercy lies with the Governor General, who is advised by the 10-person Belize Advisory Council. Since 1985 numerous
death sentences have been handed down, though none have been carried out. Were these persons all released or are they incarcerated for a life term (which offers the same protection to society against their future crimes that execution would)?

The final authority is the Privy Council in London, however there is a new final court to serve the Caribbean, just now coming on-line. Problem in Belize has been that the prison doesn't seem to be able to contain the bad guys when they decide to escape.

Thornton's Law of Diminishing Punishment states: "no one who has lost his life as punishment...murders again." :rolleyes: PS. News of the suspect being out on bail for a previous robbery is very troubling. Why should a criminal gain reduced bail just because they can't pay. PSS. Hope they forfeit his bail :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

He'll probably be out on bail again.

indygal, unfortunately under present Belize law the Town Council, even with the best of intentions, cannot charge higher taxes without approval from the government. The government is one party, the town council another and there is no love lost between the two. Co-operation, although much needed, is unlikely.

I'll say it again, the government of Belize gets enough tax money from our island, they just need to allocate a relatively small percentage back to us so that we can fix our pressing problems.