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Criminal injuries compensation

May 26, 2023 Letters

Dear Editor,

Kaieteur News – There are numerous instances, even when justice has been done by the Prosecution securing the criminal conviction of the perpetrator, where victims of crime are left to fend for themselves with injuries that arose out of the unfortunate incident. The Mahdia Tragedy appears set to be a case in point – although it must be noted straightaway that President Ali has pledged that Government will support the bereaved families and the children recovering in hospital in every way possible. This however is a very special case because of its magnitude in terms of loss of life and the ages of the victims that combine to compel a responsibility in loco parentis.

Most cases will not attract any such Presidential pledge. The victim of a hit-and-run driver who was never traced, the bereaved wife of a passenger killed in a minibus driven by an unlicensed driver, the man injured in an unprovoked attack by an aggressive drunk – it is a list that can go on and on – will all be left to their own devices coping with an amputated limb, young children with no breadwinner husband, a lost eye or maybe some type of post-traumatic stress disorder.

One of the things we can do with our oil money to help persons in such situations, is set up a Criminal Injuries Compensation Board to assess claims for compensation in respect of injury sustained by victims of violent crime. The Board will have regard to a Schedule setting out a range of awards in relation to specific injuries within categories of injury, and will take into consideration in making awards, the conduct of the claimant as related to the incident and its immediate aftermath. If relevant, the claimant’s antecedents will also be borne in mind to determine whether to impose a reduction of the financial aspect of the award ordinarily payable.

The Mahdia Tragedy, according to early findings, was a case of arson by a person who is aged around 15 or 16 – a young person who in all likelihood never thought even for a single moment about the possible, nay likely, consequences of their actions given the extensive security grilles in place. I do not here make any plea in mitigation whatsoever. I merely highlight the fact that teenagers universally are self-centred immature beings, in need of guidance because they do not yet think ahead with much clarity. There are some adults too who do not think ahead with clarity. A Criminal Injuries Compensation Board, if in place, would consider that none of the victims contributed in any way to their demise, and that the bereaved families would for all practical purposes ultimately hold the State and not the perpetrator responsible. Each bereaved family would duly receive the full compensation the Board could award under the Schedule.

As it is, the 19 bereaved families, and several others whose daughters have suffered varying degrees of physical and trauma injury, will receive all the help they can reasonably hope for. When the President promises in real time to address people-focused issues he usually delivers – so I will say with certainty that those folks are very well covered. I will say with hope and good reason that all victims of criminal injuries in cases yet to come ought to be covered too.

Yours truly
Ronald Bostwick

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