DEMOCRATIC National Alliance (DNA) Leader Branville McCartney issued an emotional appeal yesterday for a collective effort to break the cycle of violence following the sentencing of his brother Kurt’s killers.

While last week’s sentencing marked the end of a painful chapter for his family, Mr. McCartney said the relief was tempered with immense sadness when he considered the state of crime, the fear of crime and the protracted course of justice in the country.

“Losing my brother is the most difficult thing I have ever faced,” he wrote in a letter to the Editor.

“His passing has tested the limits of my own strength in ways that only those who have experienced loss can really appreciate. To have him taken from us in the way that he was is a reminder that we are all at risk.”

Mr. McCartney added: “While I am glad that my family has been able to receive some level of closure, I cannot help but think of the countless other families who are still waiting, patiently for their turn at justice.”

Mr. McCartney’s brother Kurt, a businessman, was killed in Gambier Village on October 24, 2013. Thorne Edwards and Lyndera Curry were convicted on charges of murder and manslaughter respectively on December 14, 2015.

Last week, Edwards was sentenced 45 years for murder and 20 years for armed robbery. His sentences will run concurrently and were reduced for time spent on remand.

His co-accused and former girlfriend Curry received seven years for her manslaughter conviction and five years for armed robbery. Her sentences were also reduced for the nearly three years she spent on remand.

Mr. McCartney noted that his brother’s case passed through the court system “relatively quickly”, pointing to the “stellar work” of police investigators and court officials. He said he was hyper-aware of the perception that his high-profile status and family background played a role in the “smoothness” of the process.

“Sadly, many Bahamian families are denied the kind of justice they deserve for their slain family members,” he said.

“Many cases often fall through the cracks of our backlogged judicial system, breeding feelings of pain and anger and discontent, which in turn act as a catalyst for revenge and vigilantism. It seems to me that we are caught in a vicious cycle where those who lose loved ones to violent crime then become perpetrators of violent crime, who in turn also become victims of violent crime.

“And caught in the middle of this spin cycle of crime are law-abiding men and women. People who are hard at work providing for their families, going about their daily routines, going to ATMs, congregating at community parks or walking to and from work.”

Mr. McCartney lamented that Bahamians lived in constant fear of criminals who seemed to be fearless. He referenced the home invasion and armed robbery of Deputy Prime Minister Philip Davis on December 9, 2013, and the fatal shooting of Latore Mackey, the prime minister’s press secretary, on August 25, 2014.

“Criminals show us every day that they could care less about human life or property,” he said.

“No one is safe and while government officials would have us believe that crime is on the decline, I dare to say the fear of crime trumps those statistics.”

Last week, Minister of National Security Dr Bernard Nottage presented statistics in the House of Assembly that showed that overall crime fell by 29 per cent from January 1 to June 14, compared to the same period last year.

Mr. McCartney pleaded for political, community, and church leaders to set the moral compass for the citizenry by their actions.

“We cannot be the kind of politicians who skirt the law but expect our citizenry to be compliant,” he said, “we cannot be the kind of teachers, pastors and mentors who say one thing but do the opposite.

“Why? Because our children - mine and yours - are watching. Because they are taking their cues from us, because their inability to be productive law abiding citizens is a reflection of our failures as the generation responsible for teaching them.”

Mr. McCartney added: “We are more than numbers. We are human. We deserve to feel safe and be safe and where necessary, we deserve justice.” brother Kurt's killers.

By Ava Turnquest, Tribune Chief Reporter

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