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Man escapes noose - public calls for swift execution of death sentences
Emotions ran high this week when convicted rapist and murderer Morel Cox (33) narrowly escaped being hanged. After having spent four years and nine months on death row, Cox was to have been executed last Thursday. On Monday, however, a team of lawyers consisting of Kenneth Foster, Mary Francis and Isabella Shillingford filed a constitutional motion against Cox' death warrant. On Wednesday, High Court Judge Suzie d'Auvergne - the same judge who, in 1994, sentenced Cox to the gallows - ruled in favour of the motion and substituted Cox' death penalty for life imprisonment. D'Auvergne's verdict is based on the established notion that to execute a man after a prolonged period of delay constitutes inhumane, cruel and unusual punishment and therefore contravenes section five of the Constitution of St. Lucia. According to the law of the land, execution should follow as soon as is practicable after a sentence of death has been passed - allowing a reasonable time for appeal and consideration of reprieve.
The Thursday Voice reports extensively on the case, as do the Star and Mirror. The Crusader devotes its front page to recalling the circumstances of the cruel rape and murder committed by Cox in June of 1991 of twenty-year-old Augier girl Dona John. In an earlier case, in 1986, Cox was sentenced to twenty years in jail for raping and sodomizing a 74-year old woman but he was released in 1990 by the Mercy Committee due to overcrowding at the prisons.
Reactions on the island following last Wednesday's verdict were fierce. Although many persons seem to acknowledge that Judge d'Auvergne's hands were tied in this case, an overwhelming majority of St. Lucians appear to feel that Cox should have been hanged. According to this week's papers, virtually across the board, people are calling for the swift execution of death row inmates, to prevent recurrence of a man's escape from the noose. The mood was perhaps best captured in The Mirror's editorial: "We believe that in many ways, the Morrel Cox case will be a watershed of sorts ... because given the mood in the country [and] the Government's own resolve to execute persons convicted of murder who have exhausted all avenues of appeal, those who take the lives of others from here on out will have to pray that they are never caught, or if caught, are not convicted. The State is not expected to be so tardy in carrying out the orders of the Court in such cases in the future".
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Samples from Soufriere River match those from copra factory
Samples of a substance found in the Soufriere river two weeks ago, when thousands of fish died overnight, are said to be consistent with samples of substances taken from the Soufriere Copra Factory. In particular, material found floating in the river has allegedly been found to contain a residue of Gloria margarine, which matches similar residues found in the outfall of the factory which leads to the Soufriere river. This is reported in the Thursday Voice. However, the paper continues, it has yet to be established whether the substances analysed are actually responsible for causing the fish to die.
The tests were done by the Caribbean Environmental Health Institute, for the Department of Fisheries and the Soufriere Marine Management Area. The Copra Factory's general manager, Joe Allain, has flatly denied that the factory is responsible for the poisoning incident. According to the Voice, however, another official of the factory "was very apologetic about the incident" and the newspaper says it understands that this official "intends to carry out an internal investigation into the matter". The Ministry of Fisheries is expected to publicise the results of the CEHI report this week.
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Hyatt Hotel to recruit four hundred staff next week
Officials of Hyatt Regency, the new 300-room, five-star hotel located at Pigeon Point, next week will begin the process of selecting and recruiting about four hundred members of staff. Interviews will be conducted at two locations on the island: on Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th October at the conference room of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, and on Thursday 7th and Friday 8th October at the CSA Centre. Both days, interviews will start at 9.00 am. The Star and Voice report this. These papers and the Mirror carry Hyatt's combined job advertisement. See St. Lucia Online's job page for details.
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History of Carnival hits bookstores
'Carnival Expose. Memories of St. Lucia Carnival, 1950s to 1990s' is the title of a publication which hit bookstores around the island last week. The magazine is researched and written by Wiggins Melius, who started the task after he realised that, despite St. Lucia's image as a nation of carnival-loving people, no document exists to celebrate the people who have contributed to this festival in decades gone by: the Kings and Queens, steel bands, old mass revellers, calypsonians, and others.
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St. Lucia hosts ACP seminar on World Trade Organization
St. Lucia is hosting a regional seminar this week aimed at preparing African, Caribbean and Pacific countries to better deal with the commitments, rules and obligations of the World Trade Organization. Some eighty participants, including representatives of fourteen Caribbean nations, are to attend the seminar, which is scheduled to be held from 27th - 30th of September at the Wyndham Morgan Bay Resort.
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Vieux Fort focus in larger $30 million USAID - OECS programme
The development of environmentally sound income-generating activities for local residents in Vieux Fort is the focus of one of the start-up programmes identified in a US$30 million USAID assistance project for the Eastern Caribbean. Other start-up projects include the advancement of eco-tourism in Dominica; support for the OECS secretariat in addressing urgent issues related to trade strategy, policy and legislation; and support of environmental management issues faced by regional hotels.
The start-up activities are phase one in a five-year programme aimed at the development of economic growth, environmental management and legal system reforms in the region. This was disclosed at the first of what are to become bi-annual meetings between representatives of USAID, CARICOM, the OECS, Caribbean Development Bank, Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, University of the West Indies, and the governments of Antigua and St. Lucia. This is reported in The Mirror.
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International feature magazine highlights St. Lucia
Caribbean Investment Profiles, a London-based publisher of investment and tourism profiles and supplements for Caribbean governments, has recently published a 68-page, full-colour magazine highlighting St. Lucia. This is reported in the Star. The magazine features 35 articles, ranging from treatises on investment and tourism opportunities to reviews of the island's culture and people, interviews with various ministers of government, airline executives, bankers, developers and others. Prime Minister Dr. Anthony has expressed "deep satisfaction" with the publication, according to the Star.
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Banana Corporation urges farmers to improve quality of fruit
The St. Lucia Banana Corporation (SLBC) last week launched a campaign aimed at urging farmers to improve the quality of fruit offered for sale to the Corporation. Fruit quality consistency scores over August were as low as 63%. The SLBC aims to bring this score up to 80% and over by October. To attain this, the company has organised a number of training sessions in various sub-areas to demonstrate to farmers correct post-harvest practices. The SLBC reminds farmers that it has been subsidising the price for bananas for some time now, but that it cannot continue to do so if quality improvements do not materialise. This is reported in the Star.
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Ministry of Health concerned about ringworm cases
The Ministry of Health has expressed concern about the increase in ringworm infections on the island. Health officials have asked parents, barbers and hairdressers to be on the lookout for ringworm infections and to refrain from cutting or shaving anyone's hair if an infection is suspected. Medical attention must be sought and medication used strictly as directed. School children should remain at home until seven days after starting treatment and bed linen, towels and other articles that can spread ringworm infection must be disinfected by boiling them, health officials say. The Star reports on this.
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Trinidadian fast food chain opens branch in Castries
Royal Castle, a Trinidadian fast food chain, opened its first branch in St. Lucia this week. Located in the Linmore Building on Bridge Street, the new fast food restaurant is the result of a joint venture between Royal Castle and MCR, a subsidiary of Minvielle & Chastanet Ltd. The Castries branch is the 35th Royal Castle restaurant in the Caribbean. Its manager is Ian Narcisse, a St. Lucian who for some years managed a fast food restaurant in New York. During the opening ceremony, management indicated commitment to providing proper training for its 32 members of staff, and to working closely together with local suppliers. Already, agreements have been established with at least two local poultry farmers for the supply of local chicken. The Star, Mirror, Crusader and Voice all carry reports on the new fast food outlet.
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UNESCO supports research on St. Lucia's theatre history
Kendel Hippolyte - poet, artist, teacher and research student - has obtained support from UNESCO to carry out research into the development of theatre in St. Lucia between 1940 and 1995. Hippolyte's study sets out to examine the broad socio-cultural and -political trends which influenced the growth of theatre in the island, and explore the extent to which these influences are reflected in the scripts written by St. Lucian theatre groups during that period. The thesis is expected to contribute to the ongoing debate on the forging of a distinctive Caribbean theatrical form. The Voice reports this.
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Employers Federation turns attention to disabled workers
The St. Lucia Employers Federation is planning to stage a benefit concert this November to raise funds for the disabled. The initiative marks the first step in a closer collaboration between the Employers Federation and the National Council for the Disabled which, it is hoped, will result in the integration and reintegration of more disabled persons into active working life. The Employers Federation also calls on employers and others to provide the federation with information on employment opportunities suited for disabled workers. This was disclosed by the president of the federation, Malcolm Charles, in the Voice and Crusader newspapers.
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Government invites nominations for National Awards
Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony this week called upon St. Lucians to submit the names and details of persons whom they consider deserving of national awards. There are seven grades of national awards: The Grand Cross, the National Service Cross, the National Service Medal, the St. Lucia Cross, the Medal of Honour, the Medal of Merit and the Les Pitons Medal. The last four are open to nominations from the general public. The awards will be announced during the 21st Independence Anniversary celebrations in February of next year. Nomination forms can be obtained from the PM's office, the Government Information Service, or any regional office, post office, subcollector's office or public library.
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Future of OECS tourism topic of November conference in St. Lucia
Over 150 delegates from the USA and Caribbean region are expected to gather in the island from 7th till 10th of November to discuss strategies to increase hotel investments in the member states of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). The conference, funded by the Organisation of American States, will also seek ways to foster new employment, foreign exchange and income earning opportunities, and discuss strategies to improve the OECS islands' market positions. The Mirror reports this. The investment promotion division of the National Development Corporation can provide interested persons with additional information on the conference.
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Jubilee Trust Fund launched: supports marginalised persons and cultural research
To assist St. Lucians who have become marginalised as a result of poverty, abandonment, domestic violence or homelessness, and to support persons pursuing research into aspects of the culture of St. Lucia - these are the aims of the Jubilee Trust Fund which was formally launched last Sunday at the Folk Research Centre (FRC). The Star carries a full report on this event. The trust fund was established in August 1997 to hallmark Monsignor Patrick Anthony's 25th anniversary as an ordained priest. Since then, benefactors have brought together $11,000. A board of five trustees has been established to carry responsibility for grant and loan applications, and to continue to raise funds. The first fund raising initiative will be an annual folk concert benefit performance to be held on 2nd October, 7.30 pm at the National Cultural Centre. Applications for awards - with a maximum of $1,500 - can be made to PO Box 514 until 15th October. As of next year, the annual deadline will be 31st August. For more info: call the FRC, or call 452 -2279.
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