KINGSTON, Jamaica – Justice Minister Delroy Chuck is urging prosecutors to consider more plea bargains in an effort to bring an end to more cases.

Chuck, who was speaking at a national judiciary education symposium on Thursday at the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court, said while making these plea bargains, the victims or relatives of the victims should be consulted so as to not have complaints after the sentence has been issued.

“I will urge this in [the] future that in sentencing, the victims get the opportunity to say their part. That is why in plea bargaining we make that compulsory, that the prosecution before they agree to the guilty plea and the sentence, the victim or the families of the victim can be consulted, so there’s no complaint afterwards,” the Minister stated.

He went on to say, “I would urge that the prosecutor engage more in plea bargaining so we can dispose of more cases and the parties can all be consulted. There are many challenges to overcome, but I urge all Jamaicans to kindly work with the police, work with the prosecution and let us see if we can solve the many problems that are encountered in Jamaican society.”

At the same time, he acknowledged that judges have come under criticism for sentencing and believes nothing is wrong with the latter, especially if they are constructive and alternate solutions can be proposed.

“I never felt that our judges are that lenient. I’ve always felt that our judges are harsh in imposing sentences. But when persons feel that the sentence should be longer, sometimes they need to understand that there are certain sentencing practices that the judges comply with. And one of them is a Criminal Justice Amendment Act where the party pleads guilty, the act in fact directs the judge to consider that a portion of the sentence to be reduced,” Chuck said.

The Minister went on to say that Jamaicans must understand that a reduced sentence does not indicate that the person is not guilty, since “in fact they have pleaded guilty.” Instead when an accused person pleads guilty, they are showing the court that they take responsibility for the crime and they are at the mercy of the court and they are urging the court to show leniency, Chuck explained.

“Therefore, if the judge takes off a portion of the sentence it is quite responsible to do so. But, people look at the final sentence and start complaining,” he said.