House Approves Bills to Increase Penalties for Murder

The House of Representatives on Tuesday (April 29) passed three Bills that seek to appropriately treat with and increase the penalties for the offence of murder under Jamaican law.

The Bills are the Offences Against the Person (Amendment) Bill, the Criminal Justice (Administration) (Amendment) Bill and the Child Care Protection (Amendment) Bill.

Closing the debate on the Bills, Minister of Justice, Hon. Delroy Chuck, said the Bills represent a necessary and deliberate response to the levels of violent crime in the society, particularly those involving the most heinous offence, murder.

“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,” Mr. Chuck said.

“While this 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,” he added.

The Bills are the result of extensive consultation through the Joint Select Committee process convened from as far back as 2023.

The committee received oral and written feedback from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Jamaican Bar Association, the Office of the Children’s Advocate, the Office of the Public Defender, Jamaican Psychological Society, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Faculty of Law UWI, Mona, civil society stakeholders, and members of the public.

Regarding the Offences Against the Person (Amendment) Bill, Mr. Chuck said the Joint Select Committee lowered the penalties related to non-capital murder.

The mandatory minimum penalty proposed now is 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 years,” he added.

As it pertains to the Criminal Justice (Administration) (Amendment) Bill, it seeks to amend section 42 (F) of the Criminal Justice (Administration) Act 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,” Mr. Chuck informed.

For the Child Care and Protection (Amendment) Bill, 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; however, the child 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 also have the latitude to determine the years that must be served before the child becomes eligible for parole.

“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,” Mr. Chuck said.

Meanwhile, the Minister said 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,” Mr. Chuck emphasised.