DPP urges stepped up discipline, responsibility

Acting Director of Public Prosecutions Alliston Seale SC warned that too many parents are failing to take responsibility for guiding their children, saying this neglect allows bad habits and wayward behaviour to take root long before courtrooms become involved.

“You have to tell the children when they are doing foolishness as parents,” he said. “Parents have a serious responsibility. You must admonish the children. The Good Book says: ‘Who the Lord loves, He chasteneth’. We have to get some sort of correction. I am not saying that everything must be physical by beating up the children, but you have to let them know that they are wrong. You can’t encourage them in bad behaviour because then it gets to this.”

Seale drew on the case of convicted murderer Gabriel Shando Hayde of Colleton, St John, during the sentencing phase in No. 4 Supreme Court.

A 12-member jury unanimously found Hayde guilty of killing 26-year-old Kerwin Howell on February 16, 2020.

Seale outlined serious concerns in the probation and psychological reports, which revealed a change in Hayde’s behaviour during the teenage years.

“Reports indicate that he learned well at primary school and exhibited no behavioural problems, so what went wrong? After the completion of this, he went to secondary school and by second form — trouble,” he said.

“Parents would have to notice these sorts of things. He started breaking school rules. He started selling snacks on the school compound, skipping classes, gambling, wearing a scarf contrary to school regulations and was involved in the occasional fight. He had to stop down in second form twice, and clearly, this came from the attitude towards school. If you are gambling and nobody can’t tell you anything, and you are fighting, and such, where do you expect to end other than right where we are today.”

The acting DPP said that instead of addressing such issues and doing their part, some parents tend to cast the blame on teachers, the church, the government and elsewhere.

“Every person seems to get blame other than who should accept blame, and that is where we are in this place called Barbados,” the senior counsel said.

According to Seale, in the reports, Hayde admitted to smoking marijuana daily, and believed there was nothing wrong with this or with the block culture.

“He did not believe that he would end up in here. Parents did not believe that he would end up in here when he was going down that slippery slope. This must be a problem,” Seale said.

jeniquebelgrave@barbadostoday.bb