THE names of over 600 Jamaicans who suffered various forms of criminal punishment, including hanging, imprisonment and beatings after being accused of rebelling against the colonial state between 1760 and 1865, are to be cleared.

The process is to be completed, at least for the time being, when the Senate passes the bill titled The National Heroes and Other Freedom Fighters (Absolution from Criminal Liability in Respect of Specified Events) Act, 2017.

The bill was passed in the House of Representatives on October 17, a week after Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange opened the debate and piloted it through the chamber.

Last week a number of other MPs also contributed to that debate, including Minister of Transport and Mining Mike Henry, who has consistently led the claim for reparations from Britain for slavery, as well as Leader of Opposition Business in the House Phillip Paulwell, before it was passed.

It was tabled in the Senate last Friday, and Grange says that she is hoping that the debate will be started and completed by this Friday. However, there is no guarantee that the Senate, a review chamber, will complete the process on Friday.

The bill seeks to remove the cloud of criminality attached to the names of the Jamaicans who participated in rebel activities against slavery and colonialism between 1831 and 1929.

Among those whose names will be expunged from the criminal records are four of Jamaica’s national heroes — Marcus Garvey, Paul Bogle, George William Gordon and Sam Sharpe.

The other 600+ Jamaicans, known as “supporters, sympathisers and participants by association, and other freedom fighters” who were either hanged, beaten or imprisoned for various lengths of time for involvement with these activities, will be treated similarly.

The bill focuses mainly on the names of those who were punished for their involvement in two notable slave rebellions — the 1760 Tacky or St Mary Rebellion, and the 1831-1832 Christmas Rebellion led by Sam Sharpe. However, there were also a number of people who were linked to the 1865 Morant Bay Rebellion for which Bogle and Gordon were hanged.

Jamaica’s first national hero, Marcus Garvey, however, was the only person listed in association with the events surrounding his conviction 1929 for contempt and his association with the activities of the People’s Political Party, which he founded and led for a time.

Grange said that while the bill lists large numbers of those who were penalised because they believed in and followed the leadership of the heroes in these activities, there were also people who did not participate but who were labelled “criminal participants by association”, because they were of African descent.

“We are going to ask the historians to continue searching for more names, and as soon as they are found and confirmed we will also pardon those,” she said.

“There is provision in the bill to add new names, and I have a special interest in finding out who they were and how and why they were punished. So the historians will continue the search until we identify the missing ones,” she said.

The Memorandum of Objects and Reasons, which defines the action being taken by the bill, states that it is seeking to “fully recognise their innocence”, as well as the heroism and contribution of the four national heroes who are included in the list.