Edmond Campbell, Senior Parliamentary Reporter

( L - R ) Lightbourne, Senator A.J. Nicholson - file photos

A CONSCIENCE debate on whether to abolish or maintain the death penalty in Jamaica is on Parliament's agenda and members of both the Upper and Lower houses are expected to speak their minds and vote on the burning issue before the summer break.

Dorothy Lightbourne, attorney general and minister of legal affairs, said on Friday that debate on capital punishment would take place before the Charter of Rights was considered by the legislature.

Her comments were in response to a call by her opposition counterpart, A.J. Nicholson, who made a compelling case for the debate on the controversial subject to take place now.

Describing the results of a recent media poll on the death penalty as startling, Senator Nicholson said 71 per cent of Jamaicans wanted hanging to resume.

"There should be a full constructive debate so that Jamaicans could know what are the pros and cons," he said.

The Senate was debating a bill to amend the Firearms Act and to validate and confirm the actions or decisions of officials at the Firearms Licensing Authority and Review Board between 2005 and present.

Law was not properly enforced

The validation became necessary because the legislation enacted in 2005 was not gazetted, which meant that the legislation was not properly enforced.

Nicholson, a former attorney general and justice minister, said the question of the death penalty should not remain in limbo.

Government Senator Tom Tavares-Finson said Nicholson and his former government colleagues owe the country an explanation as to why the death penalty debate did not take place while they held the reins of government.

He said the previous administration for more than 18 years had not addressed the question of the death penalty in any meaningful way.

This, however, was challenged by Opposition Senator Mark Golding, who said that the People's National Party (PNP) government had amended the Offences Against the Person Act, creating a distinction between capital and non-capital murders.

The amendment to the Firearms Act, which was the ninth since Independence, was passed by the Senate.