In response to an article in The Sunday Gleaner in which Jacqueline Samuels-Brown, president of the Jamaican Bar Association, indicated that she would mount a challenge in court should Parliament adopt a proposal to institute a minimum 15-year sentence for gun crime, I think the Government would be right in moving for the minimum sentence with conditions.

If they get 500 people off the streets, the cost would be high to keep them in prison but if crime is reduced, there would be financial gains for Jamaica.

A lot of investors are only put off by the high crime rate and if the crime goes down, production could increase as well as the gross domestic product. The opinion of the general public is important and a vote should be carried out on the matter.

Should a person commit a crime and is caught and convicted, the sentence could be reduced if he or she help the police in removing more guns from the streets. They should also learn a skill while serving time in prison.

I am, etc.,

LEJAUNE MAITLAND

London