CERTAINTY OF PUNISHMENT

By: Felipe Argote

I have thought a lot about the reasons for the uncontrollable spiral of violence affecting our country. I concluded, as the vast majority of Panamanians, that there are multiple factors. Television, destroyed homes, the irresponsibility of parents. Take into account that when I wrote parents I mean only male. I refer to the irresponsibility of the fathers, because the mothers in most cases must comply with both roles. You should also note the inability of politicians who place as head of police people who do not have the slightest suspicion of the scientific mechanisms governing the science of criminology. The other factor is also, of course, corruption. We can list many additional elements. But I think there is one that is separated from the rest by lot and it is therefore a determining factor. I mean the certainty of punishment.

Mind repeatedly observed that sectors of society complain that many delinquents kill and although some are caught in a short time they are on the streets and kill again. Some police fear taking someone prisoner because they found them the next day in the same neighborhood and they laugh in their face. So the government says the solution is to increase the punishment. Twenty years of maximum sentence was increased to thirty and then forty years. As this has been unsuccessful and rising level of violence now proposed the death penalty. But I wonder how many criminals have been convicted to thirty or forty years? The answer is none. Then you better hope the penalty is a thousand years if well be in the streets ready to murder again soon. Records show that 83% of indicted are declare non guilty.

A few days ago we all saw on television a brawl in the baseball stadium. Even the ongoing spat out in front of the police who did little or nothing to prevent it rather than separate them with stick and pepper spray. How many were arrested? None. After discussion in the media was how to make this not happen again. That's fine, but nobody talked about how they would pay for that cowardly beating three to a subject who was on the floor. Here are the videos. How is it possible that they are not showing their faces and asking them to identify each? They have to be barred from entry to stadiums. That's the way it has controlled the hooligans in England and all around Europe. In my case I won’t be unable to attend a stadium with my children where they can be attacked by some thugs just for wearing the sweater of the opposing team.