The anniversary of the Clarendon massacre is no less painful than the first day. There is still a level of emptiness in the community as the unoccupied house serves as a constant reminder.

Deadly ties

■ CPFSA says majority of children harmed by adults they know and trust

■ Teacher renews death penalty call for child killers

25 Jun 2023/Corey Robinson Senior Staff Reporter 

WENTY-THREE-MONTHOLD KISHAWN Henry and Rushane Barnett were inseparable.

There was no greater joy for the boy than ‘jockey rides’ on the man later convicted for the death of the infant, his mother, and three siblings in Cocoa Piece, Clarendon, last year.

Some evenings, t he child’s grandmother, Gwendolyn McKnight, used sweets and other treats to bribe the boy from Barnett’s neck. On other occasions, he was simply unmovable – hugging the “monster” ever tighter.

Last Wednesday, exactly one year on from the deadly tragedy, those memories are the hardest to bear, especially since Barnett not only slashed the baby’s throat but painstakingly disjointed his tiny arms and legs. Elsewhere in the house that is now unoccupied and empty, the child’s mother and siblings lay lifeless, throats slashed much the same.

It was the most heinous of killings against children since Jeffrey Perry – heeding voices he said were plaguing his brain – wantonly slaughtered three children in Killancholy, St Mary, as they begged for their lives 18 years ago.

Along with t he horror and innocent bloodshed, the cases had another thing in common: the vicious attacks were undertaken by trusted relatives, a devastating reality that stakeholders warn is becoming all too common in Jamaica.

“The majority of these children who are being harmed or abused suffer this ill-treatment at the hands of adults whom they know and trust,” charged Michelle McIntosh Harvey, acting CEO of the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA).

“These are parents. These are family members, neighbours, all of them adults who should be caring for and protecting them. Adults often find it so hard to manage their emotions and control their impulses. Imagine the child who is still developing,” she noted as the CPFSA joined other Jamaicans in a national day of mourning for children on Friday.

PROTECTING AND GUIDING THEM

“It is so sad that the people who are supposed to be looking after our children, protecting and guiding them, who teach them that strangers may do harm to them, are the same ones actually making their environment unsafe,” offered Zachary Walker, an 18-year-old Calabar High School student and member of the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation’s Youth Council.

“It is also about the ill-treatment of our children, not just murders such as in the case of Danielle. The mistreatment by their parents, adults, and uncles. It really needs to stop,” said Walker, who also turned out in mourning.

“It is time for our nation to wake up because the future of our country is at risk. When we kill and harm our youngsters, who will be left to lead our country? What future will we have?” charged McIntosh Harvey.

Still, police continue their search for the killers of eight-year-old Danielle Rowe, whose murder is the latest to have rankled the public. Rowe was found miles away from her Portmore-based school with her throat slashed on Roosevelt Avenue in St Andrew on June 8. She died at hospital two days later.

Similarly, sleuths say they are not ruling out the possibility that she may have been abducted by persons she may have known and have made an appeal to the public for any useful information as the probe continues.

At least seven children have been killed since the start of the year, and according to police statistics, some 44 were murdered between November 6, 2021, and October 6, 2022. Had space not run out years ago on the Secret Gardens monument, which memorialises children slain in tragic and violent circumstances, Danielle would have been added to a list of at least nine eight-year-olds represented there.

Others included Shanna Kay Legister, who, along with a schoolmate, Sheneka Shakes, was raped and murdered as they made their way to school in June 2005; and Courtney Walker, who was also assaulted and killed on his way to a shop in Bamboo River, St Thomas.

At least 1,000 other children are represented on the monument – some listed as “unknown”, others killed before they turned a year old.

Danielle, Kishawn, and hundreds of other children killed since space on the monument was exhausted in 2015 must wait on an extension to have their names etched on the solemn structure. Hopefully, that will be completed by the end of this year, according to Kingston Mayor Delroy Williams.

Some Jamaicans, however, believe that erecting an extended monument would be an implicit acceptance of the wanton killing of children without any meaningful measures to counteract it.

“The plan is basically to do an expansion of the area to King Street; it won’t only be a monument but also something that represents youth excellence. I can’t speak specifically to what will go,” Williams said, adding that the idea of listing the names of children killed may continue.

THE FIGHT AGAINST CHILD VIOLENCE

One part of the upgrade is slated to cost about $30 million to $40 million, he said.

Meanwhile, the mayor noted that the fight against child violence will have to extend beyond law enforcement and the judicial system.

“... You have to deal with issues relating to parenting, child protection, ensuring that there is heavy involvement at the levels of churches and schools. It is a complex issue requiring a comprehensive approach,” he charged.

The matter was not as complex for teachers at the Beulah Primary and Infant School, where administrators unveiled a memorial with pictures of Kishawn Henry and two of his siblings, Shara-Lee and Rafaella, last week. The three children were students at the school, where teachers, staff, and pupils wept openly at Wednesday’s devotion.

“I think they should bring back in and enforce the death penalty. That is the only way you will get them (killers) to understand the impact of what they are doing,” charged teacher Inderiah Jaggan, her face stained with tears as she recalled the last days of the students’ lives.

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