THE EDITOR, Sir,
WE ARE in a serious condition in Jamaica, this year of our Lord, exactly 42 years after Independence. The question of death and removal of bodies to morgues, or funeral homes reminds me of a book I read many, many years ago, titled The Long Wait by Mickey Spillane.
Two recent cases that have come to the fore: A young man was killed in Runaway Bay, St. Ann, on Tuesday, August 3. His mother called the radio station, Power 106, to state that after five hours, her son's body was still lying on the ground, covered by a sheet of zinc in the broiling sun. The zinc got so hot that the heat began to strip the skin from the body.
You could hear the wailing and crackling of his mother's voice, as she complained to the host of radio talk show 'Perkins On Line'.
As I write, Mr. Editor, news coming over at 6:00 a.m. on Power 106, out of the Adult Correctional Centre, Tower Street, stated that a female visitor died while visiting an inmate. It took five hours before the body was removed.
This state of affairs must not be allowed to continue. A modern system must be devised to remove bodies, as soon as discovery takes place, even in the remotest village. Even in death, our people have got 'the long wait'. It is high time this practice be cut short, within the law.
I am, etc.,
LLOYD A.S. HENRY
Highgate Box 105
St. Mary
