We have been quite pleased – not with the situation referred to in the editorial below – but with the number and quality of comments received from the public regarding the sad circumstances Anthony Berry now finds himself in.
We feel this episode has sparked something of a national debate which it would be good for the territory to have, as it concerns the most precious resource in Cayman – the next generation. Obviously, not everyone will agree; but that is after all the point of debate.
The story ran in Tuesday’s versions of the Caymanian Compass and can be found by clicking here for review.
There will be no sanctimonious lecture from this newspaper about how this young fellow was given chances in life and spurned them. There will also be no hypothetical argument about why the United States government rules the way it does in relatively minor drugs possession and consumption cases.
What is needed is a factual assessment of the situation by others who might find themselves in Mr. Berry’s plight down the road. According to court records, what essentially occurred is that the young man was given a second chance, rolled the dice and came up “snake eyes”.
We feel extremely sorry for Mr. Berry. One has to be careful when speaking about the decision of a court in this jurisdiction, but it is quite likely that the young man and his family will feel hard done by. As attorney James Austin-Smith notes, the “silly, arrogant boy” Mr. Berry once was may not be who he is now. But the man Mr. Berry has become is being made to pay a high price indeed for that boy’s mistakes.
How many others in Cayman over the years have been in the same situation, rolled the dice, gambled with their future and come up empty?
How many more youngsters out there are reading this, wondering how they’ll do at the gaming tables of education, choices and life?
Do they want to risk it?
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