Don't blame, Spence-Jarrett

The Editor, Sir:

Though we all acknowledge the Armadale tragedy was the result of negligence on the part of several entities, the subsequent reassignment of Mrs June Spence-Jarrett is not the way forward.

Mrs Spence-Jarrett represents, in my opinion, a small percentile of the population who had to deal with the children which the rest of us rejected, the ones whom we classified as 'maladaptive' and wished away from sight. It is those children to whom persons like Mrs Spence-Jarrett had to attempt to bring some measure of rehabilitation.

Regular taxpayers should be blamed for the Armadale tragedy, as it is we who, after paying taxes, ineffectively monitor the departmental allocations of the country's treasury.

We should have expressed the same outcry when we noted the 'petty cash' allocated to the department of corrections. It is with that small allocation that programmes of rehabilitation and facility upgrades were expected to be done. Calls were repeatedly made for new facilities, for the ending of the unlawful housing of juveniles in certain facilities, but when a nation is morally bankrupt and nepotism is the order of the day the funds needed to save the lost will never be found, as we'd rather have the millions go to our 'businessmen' and financiers.

Mrs Spence-Jarrett is not to be blamed, we all are guilty of negligence in the Armadale tragedy, so make yourself the first casualty in your public witch-hunt.

I am, etc.,

TIMOTHY CAWLEY

Timmyonfire@yahoo.com

Kingston 8