Mark Beckford, Gleaner Writer

Thomas

Head of the National Reconstruction Effort, Kingsley Thomas, is recommending a resumption of hanging to deal with the sustained and crippling crime rate in the island.

"I think there is a drastic situation and it requires drastic action, even (to) cauterise the level of murders, my view, very seriously is that we need to resume hanging in Jamaica. When you take somebody's life your life is at stake, and it is better to do it legally than have a system where the police take it upon themselves to be judge, jury and executioner," said Mr. Thomas.

Mr. Thomas made the comments to mixed responses from the audience at the annual banquet of the Lay Magistrates' Association of Jamaica, Kingston chapter, held at the Hilton Kingston hotel, on Saturday night.

"We have to look at this thing very seriously Jamaica has become somewhat numb to the murder rate, 1,000 people die in one year and a 'nuh nutten', I remember when 300 people died in one year and it was big thing and it has gradually increased and increased."

Chilling murder figures

Jamaica has continued and in some areas has exceeded its chilling murder figures for the year. Police statistics for the month of August showed that 125 indivi-duals were murdered. Police statistics at the end of August showed that 968 Jamaicans have been killed since the start of the year. While the figures for the month of September have not yet been tallied, it is expected that total killings will have gone past 1,000.

Local human rights activist Susan Goffe believes that several changes will have to be effected to the justice system and the society at large before the country can even look at the resumption of hanging.

"Calling for the reinstatement of the death penalty this time is not the solution. There is a great deal that needs to happen to fix the justice system. We need to look at the restructuring of the police force, dealing with delays in the justice system and the protection of witnesses."

Ms. Goffe believes that the justice system is flawed and as such to resume hanging with such a system could have serious implications for the country.

While the new Jamaica Labour Party Government had not mentioned hanging in their election manifesto, their leader Bruce Golding has in the past said that when elected, his Government would find new ways to appeal to the Privy Council for a resumption of hanging in Jamaica.