A parliamentary committee reviewing the Child Care and Protection (Amendment) Act, 2023 and related laws faced division on Tuesday regarding the proposed jail time for children aged 14 to 17 years who commit capital and non-capital murder. While the majority of committee members recommended life sentences for children committing capital murder, with a suggestion that those sentenced to a fixed term should serve a minimum of 20 years before parole.

Lawmakers at loggerheads over mandatory sentences for teen killers

Jamaica Gleaner/8 Nov 2023

MEMBERS OF a parliamentary committee reviewing the Child Care and Protection (Amendment) Act, 2023 and related laws were divided on Tuesday as they recommended jail time for children aged 14 to 17 years who commit capital and non-capital murder.

At the end of the committee’s deliberations, the majority of committee members proposed life sentences for children who commit capital murder, but they suggested that where a fixed term is imposed by a judge, the young offenders should serve a minimum of 20 years before parole.

Senator Donna Scott-Mottley abstained from making a definitive proposal on the matter while Senator Sophia Frazer-Binns said she needed more time to arrive at a decision.

Youth Minister Fayval Williams parted company with her colleagues and proposed that a minimum of 30 years should be served before youngsters within the stipulated age group can be eligible for parole.

Williams, who proposed the toughest minimum sentence before parole for the 14- to 17-year-olds who commit capital murder, insisted that the punishment must fit the crime.

“We continue to be very soft in our sentencing of people who have committed heinous crimes, capital murder. In this age, 14 to 17, this child is on the doorstep of being an adult, knowing right from wrong,” she said.

“You cannot imagine the pain of the parent who lost her daughter because a child in this age range brought an implement to school and stabbed her and killed her and we are sitting here just being really soft and not sending the strong message that we are not going to tolerate the crime in this country,” Williams added.

Government lawmakers Donovan Williams, Senator Kavan Gayle and Senator Charles Sinclair all supported life imprisonment, and in the case of a fixed penalty, a minimum of 20 years imprisonment before parole for the 14- to 17-year-olds who commit capital murder. Committee Chairman Delroy Chuck sided with the proposal from his three colleagues.

In relation to non-capital murder committed by children between the ages of 14 and 17, the majority of the committee members proposed life sentence or determinate 30 years with a mandatory minimum of 15 years before being eligible for parole.

REHABILITATION STRATEGY

However, Scott-Mottley and Frazer-Binns, who are attorneys, both suggested that the sentencing for non-capital murder for children in this age group should be 10 years. They argued strongly that the State should focus on an effective rehabilitation strategy for youngsters who run afoul of the law.

An intervention from Solicitor General Marlene Aldred left the committee with more questions than answers in relation to the sentencing of children.

She said that the Criminal Records Rehabilitation of Offenders Act states that a child should not be sentenced to imprisonment.

Aldred indicated that this mirrored Section 78(4) of the Child Care and Protection Act (CCPA), which states: “A child shall not be sentenced to imprisonment, whether with or without hard labour, for any offence, or be committed to an adult correctional centre in default of payment of any fine, damages or costs.”

“What the CCPA tries to do … is to say that a child is not sentenced to imprisonment, but sentenced to a period of detention,” she said.

“You have the Child Care and Protection Act that says a child cannot be sentenced to imprisonment, but then you have other laws that suggest that a child could be sentenced to imprisonment,” she said.

Responding to the solicitor general, Chuck said that the Law Reform Department in the Ministry of Justice would review the concerns raised.

 

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