High Court Judgment – Guilty of Premeditated Murder – Therefore death penalty on the Accused – RIGHT OR WRONG?

The Bharatha Laxman murder case verdict is in, and it is NO SURPRISE TO ME.

If you followed the case closely, and you know the law, and saw the evidence, it was a clear cut case of a bunch of armed gangsters out to kill a person or persons for whatever personal reason they had!

If the whole case was read by an independent JUROR with ALL NAMES OF THE PERSON REMOVED and referred to as A, B, C etc that is what the Jury verdict would be. However even if we went on a jury trial in Sri Lanka, due to the fact that both parties are known people TO ALL JURORS, personal prejudices will outweigh those of objectivity, and the verdict COULD BE different.

I therefore, feel that even though the majority verdict was reached by the judges, there are personal prejudices at play here, over and above the LAW which may have affected their opinion. I am convinced that NO tampering of justice took place on the part of the present Government to prejudice the case, though I am sure pressure may have been on the judges from OTHER INTERESTED parties, who are very influential in Sri Lanka.

In the end it is sifting thorough all the evidence and coming to a conclusion as to intent, as this was NOT A WALK in the park that turned into violence. When the time and place are taken into account along with the period of impunity that existed during the MR regime, it is as clear as daylight that the accused were guilty as sin for this murder.

What is regrettable is that Mahinda Rajapakse DID NOT permit the true course of the Law to take place in this instance, just as he has not in other murder cases UNDER HIS WATCH, and therefore he is actually guilty of sins of omission in this regard, and has lost his moral authority to even opine on this issue, which no doubt he will till the COWS COME HOME as there are enough people willing to listen to him, and the stories of how much was donated to what cause with reminders of pictures of old women being kissed etc.

No doubt this whole episode will be politicized AD NAUSEAM and be ridiculed as a political vendetta by those who disagree with the verdict. That is the fault of the people’s lack of objectivity on what is right and wrong. We now have to see what the future holds and what real punishment the accused will get! Even here it may turn out that the law is not equal, wanna bet!