Jury system must be strengthened, and embraced

THE EDITOR, Madam:

A person does not have to be literate to be selected for jury duty. He must simply be an intelligent or a reasonable Jamaican – the key principle is, to be ‘judged by your peers’ . This is an essential ingredient of any civilised democracy. The justice system is a buffer between a potentially brutish dictatorship and the people. We must end any call for a ‘judges only’ dictatorship, as we may indeed get what we ask for.

The creeping in of a deepened and entrenched Kingston-led quasi-colonial dictatorship over the rest of Jamaica is symptomatic of misguided thoughts and understanding. We should not limit our thoughts and reasoning to our ‘toe point’, as my dear mother would remind us as children. The jury system must be strengthened, widened and embraced. Concepts such as voting should be introduced in the school curriculum immediately.

This is to ensure a more holistic appreciation and understanding of their importance to civilised nation-building – ‘civilised’ being the degree to which people live together in peace and harmony.

A low voter turnout plus no jury duty are factors in the making of brutish dictatorships.

MICHAEL SPENCE