The Trinidad and Tobago parliament started fighting over new legislation that lets property owners blast intruders with lethal force if they feel threatened during break-ins. Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said the bill delivers on campaign promises to tackle home invasions that previous administrations ignored for years. Attorney General John Jeremie backed the stand your ground approach by claiming the crime situation got completely out of hand after a decade of neglect.
Opposition politician Keith Scotland ripped the whole thing apart and called it lazy populist garbage from an incompetent government. The criminal defense lawyer brought up a woman who got shot dead after knocking on the wrong door for a cleaning gig and said mistakes like that will cost innocent people their lives. He argued the legislation threatens the basic values that hold Trinidad and Tobago together as a diverse society.
The bill has some guardrails built in, like blocking the defense if someone uses wildly excessive force or shoots a cop who identified themselves properly. Debate continues in the House of Representatives.
Opposition politician Keith Scotland ripped the whole thing apart and called it lazy populist garbage from an incompetent government. The criminal defense lawyer brought up a woman who got shot dead after knocking on the wrong door for a cleaning gig and said mistakes like that will cost innocent people their lives. He argued the legislation threatens the basic values that hold Trinidad and Tobago together as a diverse society.
The bill has some guardrails built in, like blocking the defense if someone uses wildly excessive force or shoots a cop who identified themselves properly. Debate continues in the House of Representatives.
