PAWI calls for the resumption of hanging

A call has been made for the urgent resumption of hanging here by the St Vincent and the Grenadines district of the Pentecostal Assemblies of The West Indies (PAWI).{{more}}

The organization, which boasts a total congregation size of about 3,000 and 14 churches throughout the nation, held its 30th annual district conference recently, at which a resolution calling for the resumption of capital punishment was overwhelmingly passed.

“It is a response to the increase in crime, and the heinous nature of the crimes in this country,” said Bishop Sonny Williams, who was elected as Bishop of the local district for the fourth consecutive two-year term.

Bishop Williams told SEARCHLIGHT that PAWI is convinced that the Bible permits capital punishment, and is, therefore, calling on the government to pull out all stops to ensure that hanging resumes as is guided by the laws of St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Bishop Williams said that punishment should be concordant with the crime committed. Therefore, he said, capital punishment should be reserved for premeditated murders, once certainty of guilt is established in the courts.

Williams acknowledged that there have been difficulties in executing death warrants because of the trend adopted by the Law Lords at the Privy Council, this country’s highest court.

He said that a Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), in its full jurisdiction, that “upholds capital punishment” is needed.

Meanwhile, Williams has dismissed any suggestion that the church in general isn’t working towards the prevention of crime.

While admitting that more can certainly be done, he told SEARCHLIGHT that the salvation message is the greatest tool in the fight against crime and lawlessness.

“Every person that is changed, that is one less potential murder off the streets, one less for the gangs, one less to carry a gun,” Williams said.

The conference was held at the Glad Tidings Tabernacle in Gomea, where Williams himself leads, and was addressed by the General Bishop of PAWI, Dr Pat Philip Glasgow, of Trinidad.

PAWI has some 300 churches in 13 districts throughout the English- speaking Caribbean.

Other members of the local executive who were elected are Rev Stephen Ollivierre as Assistant Bishop, Rev Beverly Haynes as Secretary, and Rev Cosmos John and Vilma Ollivierre as Missions’ Director and Treasurer, respectively.(KJ)