AMNESTY: DEATH PENALTY NOT BEST FOR JAMAICA

Amnesty International joined voices globally advising the Jamaican Government to remove the death penalty from its books. For the second time in 30 years, Parliament is considering whether the penalty should be retained in the Constitution. It was kept by a thin margin in 1978, and it seems likely that Parliament will vote to retain capital punishment again. Nobel Prize laureate and South African cleric Desmond Tutu warned the Government against retaining the death penalty, claiming it could be used as a tool to oppress racial minorities and the poor. Amnesty holds an identical view, adding that while it understands that the country is bent on reversing one of the highest per capita murder rates, the death penalty would not be the best option for the island given the state of its justice system. "Given the unlikelihood of ever being brought before the courts, it is highly implausible that before committing a crime a criminal would consider the risk of being hanged and would refrain from wrong-doing," the lobby said in a release. Amnesty added that the retention of capital punishment sends a message to society that killing is allowed and stated that, moreover, the state runs the risk of committing an irrevocable error.