Submitted by Charles Knighton
“Carson Anthony Ismael….had pleaded guilty to manslaughter earlier in the Continuous Assizes. Calista Alleyne, whose throat was cut, died on May 26, 2010. Ismael had previously been convicted of causing the death of his former wife Kirani Ismael back in January 2007. The charge had been assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He was sentenced to 16 months in jail for that offense, suspended for two years.” “Study ordered on manslayer”, Midweek Nation
“How dare someone take the life of someone else in a jealous rage and then follow it up with the most cowardly act of drinking a poisonous substance, unable to face the consequences of one’s actions?” Janelle Husbands, December 10 Advocate
Consequences, Ms. Husbands? In Barbados? Where the Director of Public Prosecutions is only too eager to see manslayers as opposed to murderers? Where the average sentence for men who kill their partners is 5 years in prison? Where in an understatement of appalling proportions Mr. Ismael, who has now killed two female partners in less than five years, is deemed in need of “anger management counseling” in the probation report furnished to the court. Really?! Only in Islamic countries would the leniency shown to the killers of women in Barbados seem harsh.
Evidently, truly retributive justice in Barbados must be self-inflicted. Far from the outrage expressed by Ms. Husbands, and for the reasons stated above, learning that those who have murdered a reputed loved-one have subsequently taken their own lives brings to me a sense of proper closure, inclusive of the knowledge that they will never be free to kill again. Had Mr. Ismael availed himself of a grammoxone cocktail after killing his former wife in 2007, Ms. Alleyne would be with us today.
While not a vindictive individual by nature, I do believe there is something to the axiom of reaping what we sow. That being said, I have never wished death on any individual. I have, however, perused certain obituaries with pleasure. Ms. Husbands may find a certain amount of catharsis in such an endeavor.
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.