The judiciary’s policy of accepting guilty pleas to the lesser count of manslaughter by men who have slaughtered their wives and lovers must be changed immediately, according to Speaker of the National Assembly Ralph Ramkarran, who is urging prosecutors to “stop the carnage” and for judges to “simply shape up” in domestic violence cases.
In an article in the latest edition of the Weekend Mirror, “Women in Danger,” Ramkarran, a Senior Counsel and PPP Executive Member, said the situation demands emergency attention, while noting that sentencing of men for the manslaughter of women has become a national disgrace. “I am shocked that there is no outcry at the leniency of the sentencing, varying from five to ten years in a bad case,” he wrote.
Ramkarran said the combined financial, human, material and institutional re-sources which the state, NGOs, the Guyana Police Force and the justice system have poured in the area of domestic violence prevention have clearly proved to be inadequate and the entire approach needs to be re-examined. He pointed out that hardly a month goes by without a report of a wife, married or reputed, living with her husband or separated, being gruesomely murdered over a domestic issue.
According to him, the reality appears to be that despite the national efforts, “which I believe have been modest so far in relation to the magnitude of the problem,” the scale of domestic violence against women, in particular, acts of murder, are undiminished. Stating that the “continuing scourge of domestic violence needs attention right now,” Ramkarran pointed out that Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Priya Manickchand, has stated that the government cannot intervene unless it is aware of what is going on in the home unless official complaints are made. “The reality is that the government is never going to know because women do not often come forward for reasons that have nothing to do with their approbation of violence to themselves, and if they do, threats, discouragements and other inducements are deployed to dissuade them from pursuing their complaints,” he wrote.
He noted that legislation on domestic violence has been in place for many years and it offers victims a wide array of remedies and preventative measures. The police have become increasingly sensitive to complaints by women of domestic violence and the current Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee, has encouraged the additional steps by the police, he said. Additionally, he pointed out that Manickchand’s Ministry, Help and Shelter and other NGOs have done much to educate the public and to give relief to women in distress. However, he said it is “necessary for all parties to get together to determine the approaches which are necessary, both short term for an immediate impact and long term to deal with the more intractable issues.”
‘Deeply troubled’
While making it clear that his observations had nothing to do with the personalities involved, Ramkarran said he is deeply troubled about the guilty plea accepted from those accused of murdering their spouses. He noted that men charged with murder arising from domestic circumstances almost always plead guilty to manslaughter. “For this to happen, the prosecution has to accept the guilty plea to the lesser offence. The judge can refuse to allow such ‘compromise.’ This happens in many cases where there is clear evidence of murder. This policy needs to change and change immediately,” he explained. He also emphasised that stopping the policy does not require a study, or financial, material or human resources, or even intervention by the government or the judiciary. “What I am saying is already known. Prosecutors simply have to stop the carnage and judges simply have to shape up,” he said.
Ramkarran noted that a person convicted of rape, an offence of the most serious gravity to women, can expect, deservedly, a 20 year sentence. “A wife killer gets off with half. One is tempted to the conclusion that we are still operating under the philosophy of ancient times that your wife is your property and that you can do whatever you wish with her,” Ramkarran added.
At the same time, he noted that in the UK the reverse happens as the average sentence for rape is eight years and for manslaughter at least double. In the US the sentences are also much higher.
And while a history of domestic violence more than likely would have preceded the murder, Ramkarran said many of the women are either trapped in such relationships, or are unable to escape the violence which is usually carefully planned and executed.