By INDARJIT SEURAJ Thursday, July 2 2009

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PASTOR Peter Morris yesterday knocked the Government for the high rate of murders which continues to plague the country.

During his homily at the funeral service of Camille Daniel, the 39- year-old Diego Martin mother who was shot dead on the compound of the West End Police Station one week ago, he made a fiery call for the resumption of hangings.

“It’s time that those in authority get up and deal with the matters (executions)...if they had, we would not have been here today,” Morris said.

“They must exercise the authority which God has placed in their hands to curb the evil which has spread like wildfire across the land.” He said criminals were being allowed to kill, knowing they would not face the hangman if caught.

Anthony Briggs, 25, was the last person to be executed in Trinidad.

He was sent to the gallows on July 28, 1999 for the August 1992 murder of taxi driver Siewdath Ramkissoon.

“The Government of the day has failed to carry out the work of God,” he said.

“They are God’s government and God’s ministers appointed to do the work of God,” he said, adding, “the death penalty is designed by God and given to the government to stop criminals.” Before a crowded gathering at the Seventh-day Adventist Church on Stanmore Avenue, Port-of-Spain, Morris said the Government had failed to do the work of God in punishing killers. Instead, he said, killers are being accommodated rather than being dealt the full weight of the law.

“It is a sad day for the country when taxpayers’ dollars are being used to protect them (criminals) behind prison walls and for feeding them. And the murder toll is climbing...

families are hurting.” “The Government is impotent and the nation is bleeding everyday.” The murder toll to date is 274.

Morris noted that the problem was even more compounded with the Government meeting for negotiations with gang leaders.

“How come those in authority could go and negotiate with gang leaders?” he asked. “It baffles me.” Quoting from the scriptures, Morris said the right to execute criminals was given by God to those in authority. “The Bible is very clear, God has set up government and given them the sword.” Friends and relatives gathered at the church to pay their final respects to the woman who will be remembered as a hero. Her husband Army Lance Cpl Stanley Nottingham entered the congregation, viewed her body and broke down into tears. He then pulled off his sunglasses and kissed his wife to whom he had been married for seven years. It was only fitting then, that she was dressed in the white gown she wore when the two exchanged vows on their wedding day.

Her close friend Abigail Jagessar, who was with her when she was killed, was inconsolable and had to be escorted out of the church. Her life now twisted upside down by being a witness to murder, she has since been enlisted in the Police Service witness protection programme.

It was just one day earlier, that two Diego Martin men, Xavier Thomas, 22, and Kristian “Pesty” Porter, 17, appeared before a Port-of-Spain magistrate charged with the murder of Daniel. Porter is the same age as Daniel’s son Jesus.

In the eulogy , Michael Lessey said Daniel lived her life like the book she always wanted to write. He described her as a woman dedicated to her family.

“Her life was filled with love for Stanley and joy for Jesus,” Lessey said. He said despite the determination for life and the courage she showed, she was not backed up by the authorities. “She was brave and determined, and the manner of her death showed the tenacity that she had,” said Lessey, adding, “She drove into the police station, only the system failed her.” He noted that Daniel brought joy to everyone who was around her, even minutes before her death.

“Fittingly, Camille died bringing joy to someone...bringing food for her good friend. Seeing her story on TV, Camille has almost brought our country together, even in death. She has written her book.” Daniel was later laid to rest at the Cameron Road Cemetery, in Petit Valley.