Justice Minister Delroy Chuck
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Delroy Chuck
By Clinton McGregor
Justice Minister Delroy Chuck says the Andrew Holness-led administration is determined to introduce tough new legislation this fiscal year, targeting criminals and gang leaders wreaking havoc on the society.
Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, Mr. Chuck argued that the current level of crime threatens national security and cannot be allowed to continue.
The Justice Minister, who tabled the Criminal Justice Administration Amendment Act 2023 in the House of Representatives, said he hopes that the long prison sentence outlined in the legislation will help the government to put away convicted killers.
In the proposed legislation, people convicted of murder will have to serve 50 years behind bars before becoming eligible for parole.
Minister Chuck lamented that Jamaica, though relatively small in size, has the highest homicide rate among 22 Latin American and Caribbean countries.
He argued that this "extreme reality" requires that Jamaica's legislative framework governing mandatory minimum sentences for murder surpass the average threshold used in other jurisdictions.
The legislative changes, he said, will aid in the country's fight against soaring crime by "ensuring that the applicable penalty matches the severity of the crime".
Mr. Chuck warned that crime is of major concern not only for locals or returned residents, but for Jamaicans currently living abroad.
The minister suggested that hundreds of thousands of Jamaicans overseas would flock back home if the high murder rate, violent crimes and indiscipline could be brought under control.
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