...propose lethal injection, electric chair as alternative to hanging
November 19, 2008
JAMAICA SEEMS set to retain the death penalty but the hangman could have his workload shared as some parliamentarians have proposed the use of lethal injection and the electric chair in carrying out the punishment.
Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller, in her contribution to the debate yesterday, said if Parliament votes to retain the death penalty, the gallows must be left to rust.
"If the vote is to retain the death penalty, I would like to suggest that we discard hanging as the method of carrying out the penalty," Simpson Miller said.
Law should be amended
Audley Shaw, the member of parliament (MP) for North East Manchester, moved to appease persons offended by the grotesque nature of the sentence of "being hanged by the neck until you are dead". He suggested the law be amended to include death by lethal inject or death by electric chair.
Government members Michael Stern and Dr St Aubyn Bartlett agreed that Parliament must amend the law to reflect the changes proposed by Shaw.
Whatever form the death penalty takes, Bartlett is ready to put murderers to death.
"I will accept the job as the hangman or the doctor who will pump the lethal injection," he declared.
Most support death penalty
Contributions made by MPs during the debate over the retention of the death penalty, which began last week in the House of Representatives, suggest most members are ready to give a lifeline to the irreversible punishment.
The vote will take place today after Prime Minister Bruce Golding closes the debate.
Roger Clarke, the Central Westmoreland MP, said his constituents had given him a wide range of recommendations on how convicted murderers should be put to death.
Among the methods Clarke shared with the House were putting the guilty before firing squads, drowning them and dropping them from aircraft....
Author: Daraine Luton
Source: Jamaica Gleaner
