Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said the practical abolition of the death penalty probably induced some persons to use violence of an ultimate kind.
In an interview with WEFM’s Issue at Hand Program on Sunday, Gonsalves said there has been a growing concern about some youngsters being unable to distinguish between some of the things they see on television and on YouTube and the kind of violence that is often portrayed.
“It’s as if they’re immune to any reflection of what this thing represents. In some way, it dulls their awareness of this issue and numbs them.
But fundamentally, how we all grow up and interact in society will determine how well we handle this terrible cancer”.
Gonsalves referred to the recent decision of the Privy Council to confirm the constitutionality of the death penalty in Trinidad and Tobago.
“There are certainly many people who feel strongly about it, and some might argue that in our situation, this is a matter which may be meritorious.
“The issue is one we will increasingly have to revisit.”
Following the brutal killings of Luann Roberts and Precious Williams, Vincentians have become increasingly vocal in advocating for the death penalty as violence against women and gun violence have been on the rise in recent months.
On Monday, February 13, 1995, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines carried out a surprise triple hanging.
Brothers Franklin and David Thomas, and Douglas Hamlet, all condemned for murders, went to SVG’s gallows with no more than a weekend’s notice.
On May 4, 2022, Assistant Superintendent of Police Elgin Richards stated on May 4 that illegal firearms are a problem in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
According to Richards, by May 4, St Vincent had recorded 14 murders, eight of which were committed with firearms.
Over 1100 students gathered from St Vincent’s two premier secondary schools on Friday 20 May to express their disgust with the alarming rate of violence against women throughout the country.
