FIVE YEARS of anguish on death row left Randall Dixon a broken man. He is suffering from schizo-phrenia as a result of years in isolation and the mental anguish of knowing that he did not commit the crime for which he was being punished.

In 2002, the Privy Council overturned the judgement of the Home Circuit Court, which had convicted him of capital murder. It was alleged that Dixon killed a policeman during a bank robbery in Spanish Town in 1996.

The judgement was, however, quashed, following the discovery of crucial security tapes that were never tendered as evidence.

In their judgement, the law lords noted that Dixon's conviction was based on the testimonies of two policemen who claimed he and his co-accused, Mark Sangster, were two of four men who robbed the bank. They claimed Dixon shot and killed a police officer as he made his escape from the scene. No other witness identified the men as those at the scene, including an employee inside the bank who had seen all four men.

Existence of tapes

None of the tapes showed the accused were at the scene of the robbery. The police did not inform the director of public prosecutions at the time, of the existence of the tapes, so it was never disclosed to the defence.

According to human rights advocate Nancy Anderson of the Independent Jamaican Council for Human Rights, over the years, there have been other cases similar to Dixon's in Jamaica.

"It just shows us the weaknesses in our legal system," Dixon's lawyer, Dennis Daley, told The Sunday Gleaner.

He said that Dixon had been previously convicted of a non-murder crime, and so, was accustomed to harassment from the police.

Absenteeism of witnesses

These are some of the issues that Jamaicans For Justice executive director Dr Carolyn Gomes is tackling. She argues that there continue to be glaring weaknesses in the process of investigation by the police and inadequacies in the court system.

In its recently published annual report, the lobby group continues to highlight the absenteeism of witnesses, juror shortage and archaic procedures as some of the issues impacting on the administration of justice.

"We have members who, if they could wave a wand and fix the justice system, would think about capital punishment being imple-mented, but I am not prepared to countenance it now, given what we know about the weaknesses and the prosecution of crime," says Gomes.

The Reverend Dr Roderick Hewitt shares Gomes' position. Contrary to the views of his contemporaries who have been passionately calling for the resumption of hanging, he says state-sanctioned killings go against the principle of the right to life.

"You cannot on the one hand argue that you are for the integrity of life - you are against abortion, you are against all those that deny people the fullness of life - except this situation, where you are now saying yes to getting rid of someone," he argues.

He says the Government should instead focus its efforts on strengthening the prison rehabilitation system to ensure murders are readjusted to re-enter society.

"What needs to happen is that the system functions effectively," says Gomes. "We cannot countenance the idea that innocent people might be murdered by the State," she adds.

- G. M.