Human rights do matter; and so does the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Clearly, then, the right to life should be considered and described as the world’s number one right thing owed by every human person; regardless of gender, age, social condition, faith, creed, race or disability.

This is why – and here closer to home – we pray for the soon-coming realization of our hope which tells us that, we should and must work with all who would in the first instance, obtain a legal moratorium on capital punishment and thereafter, work for the abolition of the death penalty in The Bahamas.

Now note that: – As more and more nastily dread news flows in concerning the number of people who have been murdered; so grows that raucous cacophony of voices crying out for capital punishment.

And for sure, as this barbarous claque froths and bays for its share of blood – the troubles on our streets and in our homes and in our minds continue apace.

In truth and in fact, capital punishment is no panacea for the ills we face; and so [evidently] the ills and troubles we face are themselves deeply rooted in policies that routinely fail the masses of Bahamian people.

In addition, there is no gainsaying the fact that some of our religious who know better and who could therefore teach more about what they know and believe concerning the dignity and value of human life are themselves highly delinquent in their public ministries.

And so, their light –as Christians – does not shine in these times that are so shadowed by blood, destruction, pagan worship and death.

This is both shame and disgrace to all who would know the truth concerning the inherent dignity, worth and value of each and every human person; this because each of us is made [and so do we believe] in the Image and likeliness of God Almighty.

Happily, this message is finally getting through; and so today, we can tell you that more and more countries are abolishing capital punishment. But note also that: – fifty seven countries still adhere to the practice.

And world-wide, there are some 20,000 people under threat of death by this or that state authority.

Sadly, some who now languish in this tormented state are born and bred products of states and peoples in our region.

Sadder yet, there remains a hue and cry from Guyana and Trinidad in the south to the Bahamas in the north for the resumption of this barbaric practice.

But yet [and notwithstanding the blood-curdling cry for blood coming from the lips of hundreds of Bahamians, we remain confident that – when all things are said and done – this barbarism will be brought to an end.

We are also confident that, those who now run things will – sooner rather than later – join in with that growing majority of mankind who has decided to put an end to this vestige of utter backwardness and depravity.

We remain ever optimistic.

And yet, the truth remains which so ably demonstrates that Bahamians from practically all walks of life have been transfixed by what they describe as a so-called crime wave.

Most of these people are becoming more and more appalled by the spiraling rate of murder, rape and other instance of carnage and social mayhem.

But as bad as these things now seem, they pale in significance to what we would deem the real crime menace in The Bahamas.

Here we are convinced that the real menace we face has to do with the widening reach of that social rot which now provides the ground for the efflorescence of those offences that grab public attention, matters like murder, rape and bloody robberies.

But as the street-wise among us know so very well, some of the most successful criminals are those wily ones who specialize in the trade in guns, drugs, other contraband and in certain highly valued counterfeit goods.

We make this point in the same breath as we note that there is an abundance of evidence that strongly supports the conclusion that The Bahamas is home to tens of thousands of people who routinely flout the laws of the land.

These offences range from the crimes committed by those people who routinely smuggle goods into and out of The Bahamas to those offences that are routinely committed by rogue police officers and other thugs in uniform.

And so, things become ever more foul as the state gets in on those practices which – taken in their entirety – not only lead from deprivation that ends in poverty but which also conduces to producing criminals and any number of cut-throats; thence the cry that these people should be killed.

This is dreadfully wrong.