With 726 violent deaths since January in a country of 2

With 726 violent deaths since January in a country of 2.6m, Jamaica's prime minister, P.J. Patterson, who faces a general election on October 16th, wants to change his country's constitution to make it easier to hang convicted murderers. Mr Patterson and most of his regional colleagues want also a new Caribbean Court of Justice to replace the Privy Council. Not everyone favours the switch. Jamaica's opposition leader, Eddie Seaga, has called the Privy Council "the best court in the world". Some Caribbean lawyers argue that the Privy Council is fast, impartial, efficient - and does not charge for its services. Few reckon that a new appeal court will in itself bring down the crime rate. The causes of crime are complex. Police, prisons and lower courts need equipment and staff. Violent criminals are deported from North America, bringing the wrong skills. Young people lack jobs. And politicians must share the blame. In Jamaica, they have long cultivated links with local drug gangs. And in Trinidad, a former pro-hanging cabinet minister is now himself on trial for murder.