PEOPLE found guilty of capital murder in Jamaica will soon have to serve a mandatory minimum of 50 years behind bars before being eligible for parole.

This, after the House of Representatives on Tuesday approved amendments to three pieces of legislation to give effect to what will soon become a new sentencing regime for the island.

Justice Minister Delroy Chuck — who piloted the amendments to the Offences Against the Person (Amendment) Bill; the Criminal Justice (Administration) (Amendment) Bill; and the Child Care Protection (Amendment) Bill — said the stiffer penalties come in the absence of the death penalty which, though still on the law books, has not been carried out in Jamaica since 1988.

Chuck noted that those sentenced for murder will now be leaving prison when they are very old, if they get out alive, and unlikely to reoffend or pose any significant danger to society.

The amendments also come against the backdrop of the country’s high murder toll which averages more than 1,100 homicides each year over the past decade.

“These bills represent a necessary and deliberate response to the levels of violent crime in our society, particularly those involving the most heinous offence, murder,” Chuck stated.

“Jamaica continues to grapple with unacceptably high levels of homicide. These are not just statistics. They represent real lives lost — sons, daughters, mothers, fathers — taken in acts of cold violence that tear families and communities apart,” added Chuck.

He told the House that while the Government continues to invest in crime prevention, intelligence-driven policing, and social intervention programmes, it is also imperative that the justice system reflects the seriousness of the crimes that continue to undermine public order and confidence in the rule of law.

The amendments in the Offences Against the Person (Amendment) Bill increase the mandatory minimum sentence for non-capital murder from 15 years to 45 years. For capital murder, it increases the mandatory minimum sentence before being eligible for parole from 20 years to 50 years.

It also increases the mandatory minimum sentence to be served before being eligible for parole, where the sentence is imprisonment for life, from 15 years to 40 years.

Additionally, it increases the mandatory minimum sentence to be served before being eligible for parole, where a sentence of a term of years is given, from 10 years to 35 years.

Coming out of the joint select committee of Parliament that reviewed the bills, the penalties related to non-capital murder were lowered. The mandatory minimum penalty proposed is now 30 years instead of 45.

Where a term of years has been imposed, the period that must be served before becoming eligible for parole is proposed to be 20 years, instead of 35.

As it pertains to the Criminal Justice (Administration) (Amendment) Bill, the parent legislation is amended by increasing the term of years to be deemed as life imprisonment from 30 years to 50 years, where the offence committed is murder.

“The starting point for calculating the reduction in the sentence is usually life imprisonment and the aim of this proposed amendment is to maintain an incentive scheme for defendants to plead guilty, while ensuring that the reduced sentence is not inordinately low having regard to the serious nature of the offence,” Chuck explained.

For the Child Care and Protection (Amendment) Bill, it amends Section 78(3) so that notwithstanding the provisions of the Parole Act and the Offences Against the Person Act, when sentencing a child for the offence of murder, the court may specify a period of not less than 20 years, which that child should serve before becoming eligible for parole.

“The proposed position now, following robust discussions, is a bit more nuanced. The proposal is that if the child is convicted of capital murder, he/she shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment for life or to a term not less than 30 years [but] will be eligible for parole after serving 15 years.

“If the child is convicted of non-capital murder, he/she shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment for life or for such other term as the court considers appropriate. The court will have the latitude to determine the years that must be served before the child becomes eligible for parole,” said Chuck.

The justice minister added: “While this Government remains committed to justice, not vengeance, we also recognise that the punishment for murder must serve as a clear and unequivocal signal that the sanctity of life is paramount, and those who take it unlawfully must face serious consequences. At the same time, the provisions of the Bill are carefully designed to be proportionate, constitutional, and respectful of the rights of all persons, including the right to due process and the possibility of rehabilitation in cases where it is genuinely warranted”.

“Every Jamaican has the right to feel safe in their home, in their community, and in their country. If we are to uphold that right, we must ensure that our laws are firm, fair, and responsive to the challenges we face. These bills are not the sole answer to the crime problem, but they are a necessary part of the solution, a signal that the State takes seriously its duty to protect life and uphold justice.”