The Government is following through on its stated position to impose stiffer penalties for murder, with the Minister of Justice, Delroy Chuck, outlining the proposed changes that will be made to the Offences against the Person Act (OAPA), during a ministerial statement in the House of Representatives on Tuesday afternoon.

Based on the statement, the government is proposing to amend Section 3(1)(b) of the OAPA to increase the mandatory minimum sentence of imprisonment from 15 years to 45 years.

Section 3(1C)(a) which speaks to eligibility for parole for capital murder, will increase the mandatory minimum sentence to be served before being eligible for parole from 20 years to 50 years.

Of note is that Jamaica still retains the death penalty for capital murder though no convicted person has been put to death since 1988.

For non-capital murder, where the sentence given was life imprisonment, Chuck told the House that there will be an increase in the mandatory minimum sentence to be served before being eligible for parole from 15 years to 40 years; and where the sentence given was a term of years, there will be an increase in the mandatory minimum sentence to be served before being eligible for parole from 10 years to 35 years.

“The government is firmly of the view that these proposals achieve the objective of ensuring that the potential sentence matches the seriousness and gravity of the offence whilst remaining within the realm of constitutionality by preserving some degree of discretion in the Courts and allowing the possibility of a subsequent reconsideration of the court’s position.

“It ensures that in the reasonable and deserving cases, the circumstances of one’s case could be reconsidered to determine the appropriateness of continued incarceration,” said Chuck.

The justice minister said that in very short order, a Bill will be laid in the House, reflecting the government’s position on the appropriate penalties to be applied to the offence of murder.

“A clear and unmistakable message must be sent to potential killers that their wanton and heartless act will be met with disgust, repugnance and a lengthy period of incarceration. Having taken a life, the offender cannot and should not be allowed to enjoy the remainder or most of the remainder of his life freely and unburdened,” Chuck declared.

He noted that the government and the public at large are extremely concerned about the levels of murder across the island and that Jamaica has consistently had the second highest murder rate in the world since the year 2005, recording 1498 murders islandwide during calendar year 2022, which represents a two per cent increase over the corresponding period in 2021, where the number of recorded homicides was 1474.

“Of this number, there were numerous instances of multiple killings occurring in any one event. We had an average of four persons being killed per day,” said Chuck.