The lead story in THE STAR yesterday, "Jungle justice after girl's death" is one that may find some readers standing on the middle ground as it relates to crimes and retribution.

On one hand, some may believe that quite frankly, the teen who was allegedly killed after the shooting of the young girl, deserved it as he was among the group that brought about her death. On the other hand, some may be saying, that the legal enforcer of the law, the police, should be allowed to apprehend criminals and bring them to justice.

The fact of the matter is - not that we are saying it is right - but jungle justice is a deep-rooted culture in several Jamaican communities which will not go away overnight.

And, unless the police are on the spot, then the jungle will continually have its way.

The situation highlighted in the above-mentioned article is well known, as it has been in the media since last week. A 14-year-old girl from Clarendon allegedly came to west Kingston to visit a friend, when a gang of males tried to coerce her into having sex with them. She refused. A gun was brought into play and she was fatally shot.

Community sources say that the members of the group behind the killing have since fled the area. This departure came after one received a severe beating while another was shot dead and buried at a nearby cemetery.

The difference with this situation here - and again, we are not backing jungle justice - is that we have a situation where the jungle actually executed justice on some of their own as opposed to outsiders, typical of praedial larceny cases.

However, at the end of the day, the law must be allowed to run its course, however slow and frustrating it may sometimes be.