50-year sentence dispute

AT LEAST five government lawmakers yesterday supported a proposal to increase the minimum time that a person convicted of capital murder should serve in prison.

At the same time, two opposition legislators disagreed with the 50-year mandatory minimum sentence for capital murder and suggested that 40 years be set as the lowest period a person should be incarcerated for the crime.

The penalties for capital murder are death, a sentence of life imprisonment without parole, or a sentence of life with the possibility of parole.

However, if a sentence of life is imposed by a judge with the possibility of parole under the current law, the offender has to serve a minimum of 20 years before he can be released from prison.

Opinions clashed yesterday as both Government and Opposition lawmakers sought to defend their respective recommendations for the minimum period to be served for capital murder during a meeting of the Joint Select Committee reviewing the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act and other related pieces of legislation.

Chairman of the committee Delroy Chuck told his colleague lawmakers that the Executive was clear that the punishment imposed for capital murder must reflect the offence.

He argued that the public has been pushing for stiffer penalties for murder, and if the sentences do not reflect the seriousness of the crime, it could lead to retaliation and revenge within the community and the wider society.

“The feeling is that for the last 30 years or so, we have had far too many cases of murder being committed in our country, and even though other measures are being used, the feeling also is that sentences should also reflect the nature and gravity of the offence of murder,” Chuck said.

The justice minister conceded that sentences were ultimately the decision of the judge who, in handing down judgment, takes into account all mitigating and aggravating factors.

However, he argued that at the end of the day, the legislature that reflects the views of the public must also give some guidance to the judiciary of the type of sentences that the court should impose.

80-year-old prisoners

In her comments, committee member Senator Donna Scott Mottley said that while she feels strongly about imposing tough sentences on persons who are convicted of capital murder, lawmakers should take into account the present state of the country’s prisons and the costs associated with inmates who would grow old and require proper medical care behind bars.

“The fact that if a 30-year-old person is sentenced becomes an 80-year-old man (in prison) and the burden on the State of taking care of the elderly population in prison is going to be devastating because we are not equipped to take care of old people,” she said.

Scott Mottley said she finds the increase in the minimum time to be served before becoming eligible for parole “extraordinary”.

“Just the thought of serving 50 years in prison is very repulsive,” she added.

She suggested a doubling of the sentence to 40 years.

Government lawmakers Senator Charles Sinclair, Donovan Williams, Senator Kavan Gayle, Senator Sherine Golding Campbell, and Chuck all supported the 50-year mandatory minimum.

Opposition senators Scott Mottley and Sophia Fraser Binns suggested 40 years.

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