Dear Editor,
I recently read Stuart Johnson’s opinion piece, “Nothing Heroic About Criminality or Corruption.” I agree with much of what he said. Corruption should not be celebrated, public officials should be held accountable, and nobody should be above the law.
But Mr. Johnson also spoke about moral consistency and not making excuses for corruption when it involves people we support. That is where I believe he should take a closer look at his own political party.
The President of the URSM, Brenda Brooks, was convicted of bribery. Her conviction was upheld on appeal, and she challenged the case all the way to the Supreme Court in the Netherlands, which rejected her appeal in 2021. Today, she sits as President of the URSM.
And you know what? I applaud the URSM for giving her a second chance. Maybe she learned from her mistake. Maybe she has grown from it and is doing a good job as party president. I don't believe that because somebody was convicted of a crime, society should throw that person away forever.
But then the same standard has to apply to everybody.
Brenda Brooks herself questioned her conviction through every legal avenue available to her. That was her right. So why is it suddenly wrong when someone else questions a conviction, a prosecution or the justice system?
Even one of the people involved in the early URSM organization, René Richardson, had his own history involving a corruption case many years ago. Again, I am not bringing that up to say he should have been excluded from politics forever. I am bringing it up because Mr. Johnson cannot speak as though his political home is somehow untouched by the same issues he is condemning others for.
Mr. Johnson himself should also understand the danger of judging people too quickly. While he was a minister, a former staff member publicly accused him of sexual harassment and shared what he claimed were WhatsApp messages between them. Mr. Johnson strongly denied those allegations and defended himself, as he had every right to do. I certainly would not have wanted the public to declare him guilty simply because someone made an accusation.
That same fairness should be extended to everyone.
There are also rumors today about possible investigations involving politicians, including people within the URSM. I am not going to name anyone because rumors and investigations are not convictions. Let the justice system do its work and let the facts come out. That is the standard I would want applied whether the person is URSM, UP, NA, DP, or anybody else.
I also disagree with this idea that questioning our justice system somehow means supporting corruption. Sint Maarten is a very small Caribbean country operating under a legal system inherited from the Dutch Kingdom. Many of the prosecutors and judges who hold enormous power here are Dutch professionals who do not necessarily make Sint Maarten their permanent home or become deeply connected to our society and culture. It is perfectly reasonable for citizens to question whether that cultural and social gap sometimes affects how justice is administered.
That is not attacking democracy. That is democracy.
Corruption should be punished when the evidence proves it. But people should also be allowed to appeal, question decisions, and challenge the system. Courts can get things wrong. Prosecutors can get things wrong. That is why appeals exist in the first place.
Most importantly, I believe in second chances. Apparently the URSM does too, because Brenda Brooks is today the President of the party despite her conviction. Rene Richardson, as I understand it, was part of the founding of the party. Stuart Johnson, despite serious allegations and publicized WhatsApp texts, sits at the right hand of the Prime Minister of this country! I have no problem with that. What I have a problem with is pretending that redemption should apply to your people, but not to somebody else’s.
So Mr. Johnson, before throwing stones at everyone else, perhaps take a look around your own house first.
As the Good Book says, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone.”
Name Withheld upon Author's Request.