Amnesty criticizes Jamaica death penalty vote

Jamaica's crime epidemic must be solved with reforms to the police and the justice system, not with more death, said Amnesty International after the Jamaican House of Representatives voted a motion to retain the death penalty.

Supporting the death penalty to tackle Jamaica?s spiralling violence and crime is like trying to put out a fire with petrol,? said Kerrie Howard, Americas Deputy Director at Amnesty International. ?In order to put that fire out, its root causes need to be tackled.?

Amnesty International called on the Jamaican government to prioritize policy changes to reduce crime and convert these changes into effective action. These include implementing recommendations from the strategic review of the Jamaica Constabulary Force and the Justice Sector Reform Review and expediting the passage of legislation to establish an independent commission to investigate police abuses and an Office of Coroner to examine alleged police killings.