Time for a tougher stance on repeat criminals ?

Aug 07, 2017 News

By the time he was 24, Winston Hinds already had quite a rap sheet.
Armed robbery was his specialty, and the community in which he had grown up was his hunting ground.
Police finally got the Blueberry Hill Wismar, Linden, resident in March, 2015, on four gunpoint robbery charges.
On November 10, 2013, Hinds and others allegedly robbed Clayton Thomas, of Mackenzie, Linden, at gunpoint of $800,000 in gold jewellery.
On February 9, 2015, Hinds, armed with a gun, allegedly robbed Marlon Daniels of his backpack and blackberry cellular phone, all worth $38,500.
On February 17, 2015, at 1 Mile, Linden, he allegedly robbed Indra Campbell of her $100,000 cellular phone and $400,000 in cash.
On that same day, the suspect, and others, robbed Hubert Campbell of a $20,000 cellular phone.
But by then, Hinds had apparently gravitated to murder.
On February 12, 2015, the decomposing and bullet-ridden body of 43-year-old Richard Remington was found in a clump of bushes along a track near Matthews Lane in the Christianburg/Cholmondeley Hill area.
Police implicated Winston Hinds and others in the apparent execution-style killing.
He was remanded for Remington’s murder in January, 2016.
Last Friday, at the relatively young age of 26, the murder accused was shot dead at the Timehri Prison, after allegedly attacking other inmates and fleeing into the compound.
The saga of Winston Hinds is the pattern that too many other young criminals have followed: from petty offences, to armed robbery, to murder.

Jason Howard

Clive Forde

It’s the almost similar tale of 22-year-old Jason Howard, who, along with 12 others, had escaped from the Lusignan Prison last month.
His criminal career started with a string of armed robberies, then to attempted murder, then to a horrific double murder.
It is alleged that on October 28, 2016, at Water Street, he unlawfully and maliciously wounded Security Guard Kwasi Joseph, by shooting him with intent to murder him.
On October 12, 2016, at Church Street, Georgetown, while in the company of others and armed with a gun; he allegedly robbed Bibi Jahbar of $6,000. Howard is also accused of robbing Roopnarine Budhoo, of $800,000 while he was armed with a gun and in the company of others.
On November 6, 2016 at Plaisance, East Coast Demerara, he allegedly robbed Bibi Bacchus of $100,000, while he was armed with a gun.
He is also accused of robbing Sheik Sadick of $35,000, on November 18, 2016, at Lot 248 Oronoque Street, Georgetown, while he had a gun.
Then, in December, 2016, Howard and two others were charged with murdering elderly rice farming couple Mohamed Munir, 75, and his wife, Bibi Jamila Munir, 69, by setting their house on fire with the victims inside. This allegedly happened after the couple refused to open their bedroom door, for the men to steal the $20M that was rumored to be in there.
Young men like Howard and Hinds were allowed to gravitate to more heinous crimes thanks to a legal system that repeatedly grants bail for serious offences such as armed robbery. Their criminal careers often only conclude when they are slain by lawmen or their own associates.

Victims of a broken legal system? Mohamed Munir and his wife, Bibi Jamila Munir; burned to death in their home

Such was the case of Clive Forde, one of the 13 Lusignan Prison escapees. At the time, he was on remand for the September 04, 2015 killing of Senasie Lewis, who was gunned down outside the Ghetto Flex night spot in Albouystown, Georgetown.
Forde was shot dead two Mondays ago during a confrontation with police and army ranks in East La Penitence.
Some suggest that criminals are emboldened to commit heinous acts because the death penalty is no longer enforced and they are aware they will be bailed once they apply to the High Court.
The real tragedy may be that many individuals, like elderly Mohamed Munir and his wife, Bibi Jamila Munir, might still have been alive had repeat offenders been tried and given lengthy sentences before they could have gravitated to murder.