100,000 Jumbie Walking

by Dr Lester Simon

1. One of the saving graces of humour is its ability to make you hold back on the anger that is choking you and forcing you to belch out a bad word, which is why I have difficulty with comedians who think they must always use expletives to tell a joke.

2. Take the word, jumbie. In the wake of the recent murder, and with the apparent inertia attending past, cold, murder cases, I am thinking there is something patently wrong with the way we officially treat murder cases and unnatural deaths in Antigua and Barbuda. It is so wrong and so upsetting that I have to find solace in wondering about the state of the newborn jumbie and the chronic condition of older jumbie after death by murder, or after death under any unnatural circumstance.

3. This thought of jumbie is distressing in more ways than one. My love for the English language tells me that I should use the word jumbies for the plural of jumbie; but the local dialect in my head and my distressing thought about our treatment of murder cases and unnatural deaths, lead me to the realization that, unlike living people, more than one jumbie with a common cause or common interest or common birth, are most likely working in tandem or in concert in a union; and hence the plural of jumbie with a common grouse must be jumbie.

4. Hence the heading, 100,000 Jumbie Walking. Walking for what? Do we have to wait until 100,000 of us have died to walk and march and seek justice as a unified jumbie band? And please, immediately after death, in the tumultuous moments, please do not say may his or her soul rest in peace. Is not so soul go. The soul is undergoing transformation during this challenging time. Ask yourself what we the living are doing in this land. Challenge yourself.

5. Let’s start with what we know. Then we will look at the problem. After that, we will look at the possible solution. Finally, we will ask why the solution is not deployed or enforced.

6. What do we know? We know that death is both a medical and legal construct. We know that all murders and all unnatural deaths must be coroner cases, by law. We know the coroner is a magistrate. We know in coroner cases, all roads lead to and from the coroner via the police. This means, for example, that the medical doctor who pronounced death and the pathologist who performs the autopsy, are, simply put, working for the coroner. Some doctors think otherwise, and delay information requested by the police in coroner cases. These doctors should be mindful that the coroner can issue a warrant to lock up their backside, leaving the rest of their anatomy at large.

7. Some police officers, thankfully few, do not always appreciate their role regarding the import of the coroner, and occasionally misstep, such as, on one single occasion, refusing to give a pathologist a written statement from a person of interest, forcing the pathologist to walk away from an active, ongoing autopsy, causing the coroner to summon the pathologist, only for the said coroner to learn that the pathologist could not work properly for the very same coroner since crucial information from the said police officer, who reported the said pathologist to the coroner, was withheld. You can imagine the ruling of the coroner: let the pathologist get the information so he can work for me, the coroner, and stop wasting my time (and the pathologist’s time too).

8. But these are minor skirmishes. What is the big problem in coroner cases of death under unnatural circumstances? The big problem is the right of the public to know what has happened, what is happening, and what will happen, without prejudicing the investigation, trial and outcome of the case.

9. The problem is buried in the rules and regulations governing the archaic Coroners Act of Antigua and Barbuda. In particular, who is responsible for talking to the public? There are provisions in the Coroners Act for an inquest to be held by the coroner. The dearth of local proceedings and guidelines for inquests is, to my non-legal mind, buried in ancient legal dirt, begging for resurrection.

10. In such a circumstance, the police find themselves at a disadvantage. What is the role of the police, and what is the role of the coroner, in terms of public information?

11. The solution is so simple that it should not take 100,000 jumbie walking, dancing and jumping up, with or without burning flames, to tell us what to do.

12. The solution comes from regarding the origin of our archaic coroners act and how we handle inquests. The origin of our coroners act derives from the laws of England.

13. The internet tells us this: England’s inquest rules were significantly reformed by the Coroners and Justice Act, 2009 and the subsequent Coroners Inquests Rules 2013, replacing the previous system under the 1984 Coroners Rules and Coroners Act 1988.

14. The Coroners Act of Antigua and Barbuda is dated 1950. 1950? 1950. One year before I was born. There have been amendments, but to the best of my knowledge, as a non-legal person, none of these amendments concern inquests.

15. Why are inquests important, and what amendments regarding inquests have been made to the origin of our Coroners Act, the Laws of England?

16. Again, the internet, and the amendment to the Coroner Act of England: The inquest process involves a public hearing led by the coroner (sometimes with a jury) to determine who the deceased was, and when, where, and how they died. While it determines facts, it cannot assign criminal or civil liability, nor can it determine the deceased’s motive or intent.

17. Plain as A B C. A public hearing. Are our local coroners shackled by their own archaic laws, which are dying for amendment? Are the police handcuffed by the same archaic laws? This has nothing to do with reparations and asking that England repair the damage. The fault, mental or otherwise, is with and within us. So too is the solution.

18. The Royal College of Pathologists says this about inquests: Inquests are held at coroners’ courts and aim to establish who has died, and how, when and where the death occurred. They are not trials and do not determine civil or criminal liability. Inquests are held in public and there is no restriction on the number of relatives or interested parties who may attend. Members of the press often attend inquests and report information in local and sometimes national media. If sensitive information is discussed, the coroner can ask the press to respect the family’s desire for privacy, but this cannot be enforced.

19. In the meantime, until our laws are amended, common sense and decency dictate that someone (not me) should get off their backside, come out of their lane (not me, again), or stay in their lane, and talk to the people in times of hurt and anger and distress. When humanity is hanging by tender threads and people are bawling their hearts and eyes out with long eye water, we cannot pin needles to the laws on bulletin boards, stand aside and close our eyes. If so, the law is an ass and so are we since the law is but an ask away from changing. It cannot be right. We cannot treat people like this. And call Antigua and Barbuda a civilized country? Our silence is making ordinary people cannon fodder for criminals. Who cares for whom? Even if you do not have all the information, even if you cannot tell the details that may prejudice the case, for the sake of humanity and for the sake of crime prevention, until you have the amended law on your side, if you think the law needs amending, please come to the public and say something, at the very least, come and recite your kindergarten A B C.

20. A is for Antigua, B is for Barbuda, C is for coroner, or conspiracy, D is for danger, E is for everyone, F is for funeral, or the four letter word that pops up with the next murder, G is for gun or for God, the same God you went to on the recent national holiday of prayer, the same God who sent his begotten son with a clap whip and bull bud and chased your backside out of the church reminding you to do at least half the things you know you ought to do, and had promised Him fatefully to do, and to leave Him alone so he can help those who really need help. And if that annoys you, then jump to Z for zero, when none of us remain, and welcome to the 100,000 wandering jumbie congregation.

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