Cabinet to sign off on harsher penalties for murder on Monday
Published:Sunday | January 15, 2023 | 5:47 PM
Prime Minister Andrew Holness says the Cabinet is expected on Monday to finalise proposals to make the death penalty the automatic punishment for capital murder and 45 years' imprisonment the minimum sentence for other homicides.
Holness gave the update on Saturday night while at a function in Montego Bay, St James, where he shared aspects of the plan to increase the penalties for murder.
He noted that the government will be moving with alacrity to make the changes.
"While we have not yet finalised the proposals, we hope to do so on Monday when we meet at Cabinet. It will look something like this: for capital murder, the penalty is death. If not applied, then life (imprisonment) without parole," declared Holness.
"For non-capital murder, it is our recommendation that the penalty will now be...life imprisonment, and you must serve 45 years before consideration of parole," the prime minister continued.
According to Holness, over the years, killers have come to think that the penalty for murder is not the death penalty or life imprisonment and that with a good lawyer, they will be back on the streets to enjoy their lives.
"Our penalty remains, if you take a life, and you are convicted of such, your useful life should be taken. So while there are many issues around the death penalty and how it is used, there should be no issue around the incarceration of somebody who deliberately, willfully, repeatedly takes life," a tough-talking Holness insisted.
He argued that the penalty system must reflect Jamaica's values and that the present arrangement devalues life.
Holness was speaking at a dinner seeking to raise US$1.5 million for the establishment of an Early Childhood Centre for Innovation in Rose Hall, St James.
The event was hosted by Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett as part of the 25th anniversary of his East Central St James Education Fund.
- Albert Ferguson
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