War is one of the most brutal acts undertaken by humans and yet even in wars, there are rules. Similarly, society has laws to protect the rights of all citizens – even those who have committed crimes - even heinous ones. One of the basic concepts that support the rule of law is due process. This concept is not simply to protect the rights of one who breaks the law but more importantly protect the rights of the innocent. In Haiti where over 70% of the people in prison have never been charged with a crime or seen a judge – even though the law sets the limit to 48 hours – the respect for law and due process is all the more important to protect the rights of every Haitian citizen who is assumed to be innocent until proven guilty.
Even for the sake of expediency, we cannot allow our law enforcers to become judges, juries, and executioners.
The situation in Haiti is horrifying. Kidnappings and murders have become part of daily life. There is no quality of life -- in fact, there is no life when one lives in constant fear. It is therefore understandable that the Haitian population is exhausted from the absolute chaos that has resulted from the total breakdown in the rule of law. Gangs have replaced the state and can maim and kill with impunity. The population needs safety and security. However, even for the sake of expediency, we cannot allow our law enforcers to become judges, juries, and executioners because doing will result in the loss of both security and our rights as citizens. This would be a huge loss for Haitian society, both in the figurative sense (moral) and also the literal one as we become that which we presumably reject – a lawless country.
The acceptance that a high-level law enforcer can act with impunity like the gangs will mean that we will no longer have any basis to label a gang member a criminal. This is a challenging concept to consider when you are living in constant fear. However, the results of acting like the very criminals we are combatting are as plain as day.
- We would have accepted that society is no longer bounded by any basic norms, rules, and laws
- We would have normalized chaos and accepted our law enforcers to be the same as the criminals.
- We would have agreed that citizens can no longer hold the state (government officials) accountable because the rule of law would no longer exists.
A loss to the politic of chaos will equate to running recklessly back into the arms of the form of governance that our ancestors fought against – autocratic and/or dictatorial.
We are rightfully outraged by the kidnappings and wanton murders committed by criminals of all stripes (white-collar or street gangs) because those acts are immoral and illegal. To allow a government official whose job is to enforce the law to execute an alleged criminal and post it on Facebook is decaying our moral compass and presents a grave danger to our democratic ideals and values. It means that a loss to the politic of chaos will equate to running recklessly back into the arms of the form of governance that our ancestors fought against – autocratic and/or dictatorial.
It understandably feels good and righteous that someone is finally standing up to the gangs but if doing so means losing our humanity, then what good would it be indeed to gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
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