[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

June 4





JAMAICA:

Give ruthless killers their just reward


THE EDITOR, Sir:

On Sunday, May 29, 2016, Pastor Al Miller gave a spirited piece on the death 
penalty titled 'Sovereignty, death penalty and justice', in which he took us on 
a trip down memory lane.

Recently, the national security minister, the old farmer Robert Montague, 
brought to the fore that the death penalty should be brought into play to 
counter the great atrocities plaguing our society. I concur with the honourable 
minister and the reverend. They are both men of substance. If the Bible says 
that a man who takes another person's life should likewise lose his, what can 
we say about that?

Pratt and Morgan got off the hook in 1990s when their death-penalty verdict was 
commuted to life imprisonment. Why must persons commit these horrendous crimes 
and then expect to live? Where is the justice for the other party who lost 
loved ones who were contributing to the prosperity of our nation?

It is counterproductive to see these people living on borrowed time when they 
carried out such heinous acts of cowardice. When we allow them to live further 
without getting the requisite punishment that most feel to be just, it is 
justice withheld.

The only drawback is the manner in which evidence is treated to convict these 
criminals. Some, after they are freed, become recidivists. Surely, we don't 
want an innocent man to face the gallows, which is designed for the most 
wretched in our midst. The sanctity of a man's life should be foremost in the 
mind of these heartless criminals.

PARIS TAYLOR

Greater Portmore, St Catherine

(source: Letter to the Editor, Jamaica Gleaner)