National Prayer Vigil lowriechin@aim.com https://www.lowrie-chin.blogspot.com

THE passionate presentation had full media coverage, but this was no political stump: Paula Llewellyn was campaigning for justice. She holds your interest because she is about the message and not the messenger. Our well-grounded director of public prosecutions said she set an admirer straight when he complimented her about being “elevated” to her post: “I told him I have been appointed – only angels are elevated.”

The Queen’s Counsel and 2009 St Hugh’s High School Distinguished Past Student believes she owes it to taxpayers “to keep my feet on the ground”. Cordial and concise, Paula Llewellyn gets straight to the point, explaining that when justice is dispensed, the innocent is acquitted and the guilty convicted.

But getting that justice is the challenge. She shares her concern about the messages on the airwaves and on the ground in this beautiful but bewildering country. The DPP told the PAJ Veterans Awards Lunch that Jamaica is being described as “the land of must get weh”. She said corruption was being glorified in the resolve of certain elements to “buss the case”.

She read the chilling lyrics of songs that have been played on our airwaves, one chanting, “All informer – dem a dead fus’.” She pointed out that the media had been strident in pressuring the police and the justice system and asked for that same attention to be given to ending “this toxicity that is being ingested”.

“Such lyrics undermine the moral fibre of our young people,” she stated, and explained that this had intimidated many a would-be witness. She referred to a TVJ vox pop that had the majority saying that they would not be willing to be witnesses. She begged the media

veterans, “Don’t back away from being courageous.”

In challenging the media to play its part, Paula Llewellyn quoted Theodore Roosevelt: “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing… and the worst thing you can do is nothing.” She reminded us of our “overwhelming power, the power of the pen” and urged us to “use it in a positive way”. She bemoaned the dysfunction of Jamaica’s moral compass and in referring to the recent episode of a juror being charged for corruption, said she had been devastated at the news and had to draw deeply on her courage.

Llewellyn pointed out that her preference for a majority vote over unanimity in the jury system, would not extend to cases that would attract the death penalty. “This is only five per cent of murder cases,” she explained. She said that England’s Criminal Justice Act abolished unanimity in 1967. The guidelines are that a 10-2 or 11-1 majority vote would be considered with a minimum of two hours of deliberation. In this way, even if there were an attempt to bribe a juror, it should not affect the majority.

DPP Llewellyn asked us to consider these issues because “the justice system is not only for the accused, but for the victim”. The dispensation of justice will bring closure and some measure of comfort to our bereaved families, as well as freedom to the innocent. “Jamaica needs everybody to step up to the plate,” she pleaded.

As we looked around the room, we saw icons of the media who had sacrificed much to set high standards for the profession, people like Ken Allen and Ken Chaplin. We applauded the veterans honoured: Ken Dawson, Michael Gordon, Ruddy Matherson and Winston Sill. We saw the Press Association of Jamaica banner proudly declaring, “Capturing Life, Driving Change, Embracing Freedom”. We were all in rapt attention because Paula Llewellyn was making absolute sense.

After such an inspiring event, we moved, as Shakespeare would say, “out of God’s benediction and into the hot sun”. It is a very hot sun that the media faces out there: threats, bribes, betrayal and raw fear. A menacing phone call, an anonymous note, an indirect message will send chills up one’s spine.

However, we have a duty to share in the courage of individuals like Paula Llewellyn who are ready to stand up and apply the law to ensure that Jamaicans are justly served. We keep saying that there is just a small percentage of wrongdoers in this country and that the majority is decent and honest. That is a statement that condemns us as cowards. DPP Llewellyn is not asking us to bare our chest like Busta and challenge anyone to shoot us. She wants us to use whatever access, power or position we have to help this country recalibrate its moral compass.

The police force is going through a dark time, but we are hearing more about police corruption because there is a renewed and concerted effort to unmask the pretenders in their midst. Acting Commissioner of Police Owen Ellington and his colleagues are to be commended and supported in this drive.

Our media houses have the power to create a groundswell of righteousness. Already, every single media house can boast of stand-out programmes that promote and showcase the best of what is Jamaican. Look at the difference they have made with such time-tested programmes as the Observer Study Centre, the Gleaner’s Spelling Bee, TVJ’s School’s Challenge Quiz, Owen James’s On A Personal Note and Ian Boyne’s Profile. It cannot be true that good news does not sell, because all of these features have earned accolades.

One suicidal woman, on the verge of taking a bottle of sleeping pills, caught an interview with wheelchair-bound Heather Little-White on Owen James’ programme. She wrote that Heather’s bravery made her ashamed and she immediately flushed the pills – such is the power of the media. Let us all be more conscious of the media’s lifesaving powers and help flush away the corruption in our land.

Governor General Sir Patrick Allen is calling for participation in this year’s National Prayer Vigil to be held at the St Ann’s Bay Baptist Church on Sunday, December 13 from 6 pm to 9 pm. “When the city of Nineveh was earmarked for destruction,” he said, “all its citizens submitted themselves to prayer and their city was spared.” Let us join our hearts in prayer for Jamaica, even if we cannot be at the event.