Police urged to hunt down, hound killers of disabled teen girl

The Combined Disabilities Association is calling for plea bargaining to be off the table for those responsible for the vicious murder of disabled 17-year-old Shelly-ann Williams in Sandy Bay, Clarendon, on December 23, 2020.

The association condemned the killing yesterday, insisting that perpetrators of these types of gruesome crimes should not have the opportunity for reduced sentences.

“It’s horrendous. All murders are cause for outcry, but when one takes the life of children who are defenseless, when you take the life of a senior citizen, the elderly, that’s horrendous. When you take the life of a person who is disabled, autistic, or suffering from other forms of intellectual difficulty, that’s a serious offence,” said chairman of the association Deacon Arthur Taylor.

“As a clergyman, I don’t want to say hang them. That is more than premeditated, when you take the life of somebody who is not able to communicate properly,” Taylor told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.

The association, stating that it was “deeply angered” by the attack, said a reduction in time benefits the perpetrator, “but will never compensate for the loss of life or the level of brutality brought upon this young girl”.

The teenager was allegedly stabbed to death and suspected to have been raped, while her stepmother slept in an adjoining room of their home.

Deacon Taylor argued: “What could this 17year-old have done to you for you to go there with the intention to kill her brutally. You planned it out and therefore I don’t think you should get off with any form of plea bargain. You should just bear the penalty and the full brunt of the law.”

He stressed that many of these types of crimes were not perpetrated by first-time offenders. “These are persons who go to prison or jail over and over. They know what the prison system is like and therefore they have come to the conclusion that ‘anuh nuttn’ if they go back. Because they know that we don’t have sentences with hard

labour, even though it may be on the books; it’s an easy thing for them to go to prison and live out their time,” he reasoned.

Moreover, the chairman said resources should be put in place to reinforce hard labour in the penal system, as a deterrent to these types of crimes. “Just like how it cost us money to keep them there, provide whatever is needed for them to work hard outside, if it’s the JDF [Jamaica Defence Force] or whatever is needed,” he said.

Taylor said the killing of the young girl was a reflection of the continuing scourge of violence in the parish. “We trust that the perpetrator will be relentlessly hunted, found and swiftly brought to justice; and that the sentence will be equivalent to the crime,” he said.

He also pleaded with the community to cooperate with the police to find the person or those responsible for Williams’ death. “Wherever they know of these abuses taking place they must not turn a blind eye. Once you see it raising its head, get the authorities involved,” he stressed.

Taylor encouraged parents and caregivers of children with disabilities to ensure that these individuals are sensitised to their vulnerabilities and abuse.

At the same time, the association has also renewed the call for the ramping up of the police investigation into the disappearance of visually impaired The University of the West Indies student, Jasmine Dean, who went missing on February 27.

At a press conference earlier this month, Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson said the probe into the disappearance of the firstyear university student had not gone cold.

“We will continue to reach out, looking for other leads, to look for bits of information. We are still working on it. We have not found her alive or dead up to this point... We have used significant police assets to try to locate her,” he said, adding that although two persons are now in custody, it would take up to a year to apply murder charges.

In April, the police charged 40-year-old Tamar Henry of Bull Bay, St Andrew, and 36-year-old Gregor Wright, in relation to Dean’s disappearance. Both were charged with possession of identity information, and eight counts of unauthorised access to computer data and simple larceny.