‘Problematic’

Jamaica’s “exceedingly high” murder rate of 45 per 100,000 people has triggered a review of sentences under two key pieces of legislation, which the Holness administration believes will “treat with the scourge of crime in a decisive manner”.

The Government is proposing to increase mandatory minimum sentences with Tuesday’s tabling of the Offences Against the Person (Amendment) Bill and the Criminal Justice (Administration) (Amendment) Bill.

In tabling the bills in the House of Representatives, Justice Minister Delroy Chuck said the reputational damage to the country because of abnormally high rates of intentional homicides demands that the penalties imposed send the clear and unmistakable message to potential killers that when caught and convicted, they will be severely punished.

Under the Offences Against the Person (Amendment) Bill, Chuck is proposing amendments to Section 3(1)(b) to increase the mandatory minimum sentence from 15 years to 45 years.

Where a capital murder has been committed, he has proposed that the mandatory minimum sentence to be served before being eligible for parole moves from 20 years to 50 under (3(1C)(a).

The minister also wants parole eligibility to move from 15 years to 40 where a life imprisonment sentence has been handed down under Section 3(1C)(b)(I).

Where a term of years sentence is given, the justice minister wants the convict to serve 35 years instead of 10 years before being eligible for parole under Sectin 3(1C)(b)(ii).

He is also proposing to amend Section 42(F) of the Criminal Justice (Administration) Act by increasing the term of years to be deemed as life imprisonment from 30 years to 50 years where the offence committed is murder.

“The starting point for calculating the reduction in the sentence is usually life imprisonment and the aim of this proposed amendment is to maintain an incentive scheme for defendants to plead guilty while ensuring that the reduced sentence is not inordinately low having regard to the serious nature of the offence,” Chuck told the House.

“It is in tandem with this very reasoning that we also propose that Section 42(E)(3) of the Criminal Justice (Administration) Act be amended to stipulate that the court shall not impose a sentence that is less than a term of 30 years,” he added.

He said that a proposed amendment to the Child Care and Protection Act, generally in line with the objective of the two bills, will follow in short order.

Chuck argued that the imposition of more punitive sentences is expected to go a long way in preserving the credibility of the justice system in the eyes of persons traumatised by the death of family members.

He said that the proposals, which will go before a joint select committee for review, is an attempt to better align sentencing regimes for serious crimes and the public’s expectations of the justice system.

“We want to send that message to persons who are contract killers, persons who are engaged in gang violence, persons who are engaged in domestic abuse and persons who can’t control themselves that they must know that [if] you do inflict a killing, you could remain in jail for a long time,” said Chuck.

“It’s very important that this Parliament sends this message across every nook and cranny of Jamaica because Jamaica is tired, tired of the murders and violent crimes,” he added.

At the same time, Chuck said that the Criminal Justice (Administration) (Amendment) Act 2015 “has created some problems”.

He said that this is because whenever a guilty plea is entered and accepted by the court at the earliest opportunity, the accused person is eligible for a reduction of sentence of up to 50 per cent.

He said a discussion must be had at the joint select committee to ensure that the opportunity is given to the victim, police and the prosecution for their concerns to be heard and considered before sentencing.

Leader of the Opposition Mark Golding has warned, however, that the proposal for the amendments has “wide and deep implications” for the justice system and wider society.

“I think that if this was to be rushed, we may make some bad decisions that we may subsequently regret,” said Golding.

He said that the Criminal Justice (Administration) (Amendment) Act 2015 sought to codify and modify practice that had arisen at common law of giving persons who plead guilty a discount on sentence.

He said that this was to encourage persons who were guilty to make that plea to reduce the high backlog in the courts, avoid traumatising victims and inconveniencing vulnerable witnesses.

He said that this has led to significant reductions in backlog and has caused many cases to be disposed of in a timely manner.

Golding said that he has “grave concerns” that the court system will be further clogged with many cases expected to go to trial because the incentive to plead guilty is no longer there with the proposal to increase minimum sentences.

“What this will do to our already overburdened court system, I fear to think,” he said, while also noting concerns about the country’s correctional system.

He said that the country’s two maximum security prisons are already overburdened and not fit for purpose.

He also expressed concern that a murder may occur because of self-defence during a domestic dispute and suggested that the sentence may be excess in that instance.

“That’s problematic for me,” he said.

kimone.francis@gleanerjm.com