A song crafted by talented artists as the latest crime-fighting initiative of Prime Minister Dean Barrow's Operation Restore Belize will not bring 35 year old Shelly Sanchez back to life. Nor will the lively tune comfort her 12 year old daughter, her family and friends left behind to grieve. 'I am Belize' did not matter to the gunman who sprayed Shelly with bullets as she walked home, and it did nothing for the innocent woman who lay bleeding in the street, shot to the right elbow, right side of the body and right lower back.
It is likely that Shelly Sanchez was murdered because she was a witness in an upcoming murder trial, and family members confirmed that she had been receiving threats in connection with that trial. They say that Sanchez went to report the threats to the Police and they stated that they could do nothing to help her.
And as tragic as the case of this murdered mother may be, she is not the first to have been murdered to prevent testimony in a case, nor will she likely be the last. For many months, there have been reports of intimidation of witnesses, attacks and death threats to themselves and their families, attacks. The Police are surely cognizant of this very serious problem which does much to undermine the proper administration of justice, but they have done nothing to address it, and now a mother lies dead because of their inaction and because of the inaction and negligence of a lame duck government.
There are credible reports that the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions is reporting a conviction rate somewhere in the region of five to seven per cent. One of the reasons for this is the fact that key witnesses are recanting their statements or just not showing up in Court. If criminals are confident that they can perpetrate the most heinous of acts in broad daylight and still walk free, things are going to get worse, much worse. This is not rocket science, Mr. Barrow. It is clear what must be done.
The Office of the DPP should be strengthened, should not be allowed to be manipulated politically or otherwise and should be staffed with a team of competent prosecutors who should been given all the tools necessary to secure conviction of criminals. There must be efficient and effective collaboration between the Police Department and the Office of the DPP, from investigation to detention to prosecution – every step of the way. No more petty squabbles between the two entities, no more botched and barely adequate investigation, no more lost case files, no more unprepared prosecution, no more criminals walking down the steps smiling to kill again. Witnesses to crimes must be assured that they and their families will be afforded every protection possible and they must be given that protection.
Shelly Sanchez was not given that protection. When she approached the Police with the threats she had been given, she was told that they could do nothing to help her. She is now dead, and her blood lies on the hands of those in the Police Department who ignored her plea for help and on the hands of Mr. Barrow, who seems completely oblivious to what is happening around him. It will be a miracle if anyone who witnesses a murder after this will step forward to testify. The message sent by the criminals through Shelly Sanchez death is crystal clear. What if the investigations into the execution style murder of her neighbor, Ivan Francis just twenty four hours later turns out to be the elimination of a witness to Shelly’s murder ? It screams murder most foul and says who runs things. The message sent back by the Police Department and by the Prime Minister is that they can do nothing.
Until Mr. Barrow's answer to crime and violence is more than a pretty song, our streets will continue to run red with blood.
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Source: The Belize Times
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