I decided to wait a few days to write this for very selfish reasons. I wanted to bask in the moment of feeling that maybe Belize has made one small step on the long journey toward social redemption. I wanted to enjoy the feeling of pride that my country is finally fighting back, standing strong, and demanding justice. I wanted to relish this moment that for once the good guys are winning and a bad guy is going down.
Wednesday, June 20th 2012, is one of those days that we will always remember exactly where we were when we heard that Bert Vasquez had been charged for the murder of Jasmine Lowe. Probably no group of people will have stronger memories of that day than the thousand or so people who gathered at the foot of the police station in San Ignacio to voice their demand that justice be served. It was a remarkable day.
Problem is, few were actually demanding justice. What that crowd, as well as many Belizeans throughout the country were – and are – calling for is vengeance.
Vengeance, not justice.
When you live in a society where more than 90% of all violent crimes go unpunished, it’s no wonder people get frustrated to the point that they want to take over the roles of judge, jury, and executioner. The system is broken and people are tired of sitting back while no one seems interested in fixing it. But if you are one of those people who would have been satisfied to see Bert Vasquez simply executed on the spot, without trial – or worse killed at the hands of vigilantes – ask yourself is THAT really the type of society you are so passionate about fighting for? Is your idea of a functioning democracy one where emotional mobs arbitrarily determine the guilt, innocence, and punishment of people?
I am not suggesting Bert Vasquez is innocent. From what I know of this man, he has clearly demonstrated that he is a menace to society. Sending him to prison will be a good thing for Belize. But did he kill Jasmine? We will likely never really know for certain. The police have decided to charge him and the public is eager to believe he is the murderer. Case closed, as far as the court of public opinion is concerned.
If he walks, it will be because the police bungled the investigation or his family afforded him a crafty attorney. If he gets convicted it will be because society demanded he be found guilty at any cost. Let’s face it, we WANT him convicted because we will all sleep a bit better believing that at least one monster is finally off the streets.
Or will we?
Once the emotion subsides will we question how we came to the conclusion that Vasquez is responsible for a murder? No witnesses. No DNA. No cause of death. Just a ring. A ring that the police seemed to be very eager to let the media know about. A ring that the mother of Jasmine Lowe seemed very deliberate – yet somehow awkward – about describing to reporters. Am I the only one who felt like she might be reading someone else’s script?
Again, I am not suggesting this guy is innocent. But I am not comfortable with how quickly we all were to assume his guilt and demand vengeance for his crime.
Vengeance, not justice.
For good reason the Belizean public is usually very skeptical of the police. That is, apparently, until they tell us what we are desperate to hear. In the days before Vasquez was apprehended, the police were considered inept. We fully expected yet another unsolved mystery. But suddenly no one dares question the police or their investigative abilities. They got him! Woo-hoo! Now let’s kill him!
One of the moments from June 20th that will stay with me forever is seeing a former “person of interest” in the Jasmine Lowe investigation address the crowd. This taxi driver had previously been detained for questioning. During the time he was in custody the rumour mill was running at full speed. People claimed he was found with a stone from Jasmine’s ring in his taxi. Apparently he had scratches on his face, assumingly from when Jasmine tried to fight this man for her life. He drove a white taxi, similar to the one seen in the grainy security video that seemed to be the only lead police had.
When he was released there was outrage. Some people believed the cops had let Jasmine’s killer walk out of the police station. The cops were criticized while the taxi driver was shunned. His business suffered as people believed him to be a murderer. But just a few days later, there he was addressing the throng of people gathered outside the police station, demanding vigilante justice for this angry mob that just a few days earlier would have eagerly ripped him apart limb by limb!
I hope Bert Vasquez is responsible for the death of Jasmine Lowe. Truth be told, I want him to be guilty. As a nation we need him to be Jasmine’s killer. But I hope he either confesses or is convicted based on irrefutable evidence at trial so there can be no doubt about who took the life of that poor little girl. I, just as much as any Belizean, want to feel the satisfaction that will come when we finally see a predator pay for his crime. But most of all I want to see a civilized society at work.
I want justice, not vengeance.
We all deserve a moment to vent. It can be healthy as long as we don’t get carried away. But for the long-term health of our nation, let’s harness this momentum and energy and put it towards building a society that is truly fair, just, and civilized. Deep down, I think that’s what we all really want for Belize.
After all, there is enough blood in our streets. Do we really need any more blood on our hands?
Twocanview LLC 
I am so relieve to hear another voice ringing the same tone as mine. I hope Bert is the killer so both me and my 11 year old daughter could sleep at night but the truth is that the public in my home town was ready to react to anyone being caught with any ties whatsoever. I am not saying Bert is innocent as well. I am just saying that the people from Cayo wanted to take their anger out on someone. Ive been hearing about this ring from the week of Jasmine’s death and have a lot of unanswered questions. If the police had given the people from Cayo any of the suspects they had there would of be three persons hanging from a rope. Three maybe innocent men. I prefer justice over vengeance any day, however well aware that we need to make some adjustments and improvements.
Message thread elsewhere on facebook I can 100% relate to. There is no such thing as justice in Belize. We refer to a deformed aberration as justice, but it’s a far cry from that. Just look at the state of the country. Anybody that thinks we have a bona fide justice system in Belize is deluded. From that premise alone, the rest of the article is flawed. The Belize version of the “Western” justice system is a complete and utter failure. It is also a cultural import, but other excellent justice systems existed long before, and functioned very well.
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Exchange on facebook:
Person 1: Back in 2000, My husband and I moved to Palenque, Chiapas, MX. We were only there for two weeks, and a friend of ours told us that the local Lacondon’s had captured the man who had raped and beaten a 10 year old girl. The People of the village took this man to a large tree, chained him to this large tree, and then set the man on Fire. I didn’t blink and eye, my responce…”Well, we dont have to worry about him hurting anyone else”.
Person 1: Point is, the murderers need to be scared of the People. Not the People scared of the Murderers.
Person 2: Yes, those people held their own court. Acalde system worked for hundreds of years. Kept people safe and the children rarely new evil. A justice was served! Just because it is not our modern system does not make it wrong. Hell it worked just fine when I was a child growing up.
And there you have is, what Brent is alluding to as “vengeance” is really a bona fide cultural system of justice used successfully in the Americas by the indigenous for hundreds of years. And it worked MUCH better than the imported Western form of criminal justice we now have. Just look around you.
I don’t think there is a single person in Belize aside from possibly Bert’s parents who would like to see this monster live. That’s reality. We just want to purge our consciences using a charade justice system so we can have someone to blame for what our minds are already telling us.
Message thread elsewhere on facebook I can 100% relate to. There is no such thing as justice in Belize. We refer to a deformed aberration as justice, but it’s a far cry from that. Just look at the state of the country. Anybody that thinks we have a bona fide justice system in Belize is deluded. From that premise alone, the rest of the article is flawed. The Belize version of the “Western” justice system is a complete and utter failure. It is also a cultural import, but other excellent justice systems existed long before, and functioned very well.
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Exchange on facebook:
Person 1: Back in 2000, My husband and I moved to Palenque, Chiapas, MX. We were only there for two weeks, and a friend of ours told us that the local Lacondon’s had captured the man who had raped and beaten a 10 year old girl. The People of the village took this man to a large tree, chained him to this large tree, and then set the man on Fire. I didn’t blink and eye, my responce…”Well, we dont have to worry about him hurting anyone else”.
Person 1: Point is, the murderers need to be scared of the People. Not the People scared of the Murderers.
Person 2: Yes, those people held their own court. Acalde system worked for hundreds of years. Kept people safe and the children rarely new evil. A justice was served! Just because it is not our modern system does not make it wrong. Hell it worked just fine when I was a child growing up.
And there you have is, what Brent is alluding to as “vengeance” is really a bona fide cultural system of justice used successfully in the Americas by the indigenous for hundreds of years. And it worked MUCH better than the imported Western form of criminal justice we now have. Just look around you.
I don’t think there is a single person in Belize aside from possibly Bert’s parents who would like to see this monster live. That’s reality. We just want to purge our consciences using a charade justice system so we can have someone to blame for what our minds are already telling us.
brent toombs did a great job here. i think it should be reprinted in the news papers. If bert vasquez is guilty so be it but let it be established on evidence or a confession and not the court of public opinion who has condemned him already locking for vengence.
I am 100% with brent on this one and feel something is just not right about this whole murder part of this arrest.
the maximum penalty here is death but has not been implemented since 1988. We have now come to this where murder is an everyday occurrence. when i was a boy, the stay of execution was the buzz and murder was the exception. Things are dead opposite today.
I remember a case of a vigilante woman who had an affair with a JP. He didn’t pay her enough and she decided,to finish his reputation. He strung him up for rape and with 5 other ladies who said he tried to be with them as well. They all related the story to the Judge who listened to all 5 give a version of solicitation.
Final analysis, Judge found all 5 to be telling the truth about what they were saying.
none said he jp raped them but he ‘tried to get them’. when asked about rape, they all said NO, he didn’t rape them. They said evidence that was to sink the JP freed him.
When asked about what he had to say, the JP said, your honor, i am guilty of many things. i have disgraced my Jp position, i am sure i am not the man with the most women under my belt, but i am positive i am the man who begged the most. He told the Judge, he just didn’t have the amount of money she wanted. Judge sent them all home.
Let’s make sure we have the evidence cause sometimes some of us do a better job than Belizean Police at collecting and keeping evidence. That whole ring thing is, well i will leave that alone.
very good thought, and one that i fully agree with. i believe that the people demand vengeance because belize has a system that failed them time and time again. like most belizeans i too would hope that the evidence will convict him but for for the sake of rastafari don’t let us fall into that vigilante trap.
Even here in Canada the very worse criminals only receive jail sentences. In this day and age of strong forencics where proof is 100% there are cases where the death penalty would be apropriate. What is the maximum penalty in Belize?
The maximum penalty in Belize is still death by hanging until ” DEAD, DEAD, DEAD ” as pronounces by the judge,after the Jury finds the person guilty of murder. But today in Belize, those penalties have been frozen for reasons of conventions signed by weak Belizean politicians. This restrictions are dictated by Human Rights Activists. So poor Belize, in need of loans or gifts by major donors, has capitulated to these DICTATES.. Therefore, criminals are no longer afraid of the Police, the Courts or Prisons, where they are treated ROYALLY. Singapore is the opposite of Belize. So, Singapore has become a model country in the world, where peace and tranquility is supreme. AND SO DEVELOPMENT has excalated because of Law and Order.
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What is justice but a set of rules dicated by the state to take revenge on behalf of the individual? In a fair legal system, I would agree with 100 percent, but I ask, how does the citizens of a state protect itself when the state can no longer function as a middle man? The Criminals are untouchable? Still waiting to hear a solution! AL