Diego’s deadly dawn: Residents cry for hangman's return

Beausejour, Diego Martin resident Larry Duprey, right, speaks with Newsday on January 8. Since the start of 2026, there have been three murders in the area. - Lincoln Holder

DESPITE TT closing 2025 with its lowest murder rate in a decade, the dawn of 2026 has brought little comfort to the residents of Diego Martin. A bloody start to the year has left the community reeling, with three of the nation’s
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murders occurring in their boundaries. As grief turns to frustration, the cry for the return of the hangman is echoing through the area.

The latest victim to be added to the grim national list is 33-year-old Elijah Williams of Blue Basin. Williams was shot and killed on January 7, marking the second murder in that specific enclave in less than 24 hours.

When Newsday visited the borough on January 8 to speak with residents, the atmosphere was a mix of sombre resignation and simmering anger.

Sitting in the shade on Beausejour Road, accompanied by two men, Larry Duprey did not mince words. To him, the current state of "lawlessness" requires a return to the ultimate penalty.

"Crime comes from the top," Duprey said, nursing a strong drink. "But what can probably stop it is to bring back hanging. When criminals realise there is a life-or-death consequence for their actions, they will reconsider their actions more seriously."

While Duprey supports capital punishment, he also pointed to the "empty pockets" driving young men towards criminal activity. He cited chronic unemployment in Diego Martin as a major contributing factor pushing youths toward criminality.

"To get young people away from crime, you have to give them jobs. Give them hope. Lack of both is a serious problem," he lamented. "When a man doesn't have a dollar in his pocket, that will worry anybody. Everybody needs to earn an honest dollar. Everybody has commitments: everybody needs to survive, right?"

Further up the road at the Patna Recreational Ground, Zachary Looney, popularly known by his sobriquet "DJ Versatile," was spending quality time with his young son. For him, the issue is not merely political but spiritual and structural. He argued a change of government alone would not solve the scourge of violence.

"Governments come and go, but the problem still isn't solved," Looney said.

"You can have programmes from now until kingdom come, but everybody has free will. Everybody has a choice. Having a police presence does not guarantee safety in these communities. You can do all kinds of things, but men have free choice, and sometimes they choose to go down the wrong road."

Looney clarified that his comments were not a judgement on Williams, whom he did not know personally. Instead, he noted while some murders are the result of "criminal elements" choosing a life of crime, many others involve innocent victims caught in the crossfire.

Looney offered an alternative to the now defunct social employment programmes like the cepep and URP projects. He proposed the state should utilise young offenders sentenced to hard labour for community upkeep under heavy police supervision.

"If the jails are being overrun and there is no space, let them do hard time. If you get rid of the programmes, let the prisoners do the work of Cepep/URP. Let them clean the communities and upkeep the savannahs," Looney argued.

He suggested this would alleviate the issue of "ghost contractors", a point of contention in Parliament. Local Government Minister Khadijah Ameen, speaking in the House on November 26, said a significant portion of the URP workforce existed only "on paper". Of the 928 workers listed, many could not be found, and some were not even residing in the country.

"It solves two problems in one," Looney said. "It saves taxpayer money and actually gets the work done in the community where it is needed."

Not everyone in the borough believes the gallows are the answer. Amanda Francis argued the focus should remain on socio-economic empowerment and judicial efficiency.

"We have to find ways to make sure the most vulnerable in society are able to have their needs met with dignity," Francis told Newsday.

"Empower them to take care of themselves and show them there are better options. The government can use better marketing to make sure citizens actually know about the social programmes that are in place to help."

Francis does not support the call for resuming hangings, arguing it is an ineffective way to reduce crime in a system where the "big fish" rarely face the rope.

"We need to focus on improving our detection rate and the processing times in the courts. We also need to make rehabilitation the main focus of the prison system. So far, our approach has just been to punish, and that hasn’t really given the results we want."

At the Bagatelle Junction, a resident identified only as Ms Judy waited for a bus. For her, the rot starts in the home.

"It starts at home with good family values and things like the family sitting down together."

She insists the first thing is God, and he is the foundation thought she acknowledges at times: "You try to guide them (young people) in the right path, but sometimes they still go out and think differently because of the friends they keep."

As she spoke, a police van filled with officers patrolled past the junction. Judy, who has lived in the borough for 43 years, nodded toward the vehicle.

"We are glad when we see them. We are glad for the presence of the police up and down. We welcome that, but they need to beef it up."

The political pendulum

The conversation surrounding the death penalty is not a new one, but it has regained momentum following the 2025 General Election cycle. During the campaign, then-opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar promised to resume hangings if her party was returned to political power.

Now serving as Prime Minister, Persad-Bissessar said during a post-Cabinet press conference at the Red House on May 15 she has instructed her legal and security team to investigate the resumption of the deathy penalty.

Minister of Homeland Security Roger Alexander, Minister of Justice Devesh Maharaj and Attorney General John Jeremie have been tasked with updating the Cabinet.

Despite the Prime Minister's previous campaign promises, the government has yet to provide a definitive timeline for when, or if, the state will pull the lever.

Newsday reached out to Persad-Bissessar via WhatsApp for comment on the Diego Martin community’s call for the return of the hangman and for an update on the government’s current stance. As of press time, no response was received.