MP Robert Montague Renews Call for Death Penalty Amidst Rising Crime

Kingston, Jamaica – Member of Parliament for St. Mary Western, Robert Montague, has reiterated his demand for the reintroduction of the death penalty for individuals convicted of crimes warranting capital punishment. Addressing the House of Representatives during the 2024/25 State of Constituency Debate, Montague voiced his stance on the death penalty, which he contends is essential to deterring violent crime in Jamaica.

“Madam, I am saddened by the recent multi and mass killings in our country,” Montague stated. “The gains made in the fight against crime must be protected; if we reintroduce hanging, it will be.” He appealed to his fellow parliamentarians to support his position, stressing that criminals, rather than their victims, deserve no mercy. “Let us hang dem or heng dem. As long as they are dead and dem teet kin, we can call it anything. Hanging must be reintroduced without delay,” he asserted.

Montague, a longstanding advocate of capital punishment, had previously voiced similar sentiments in January, advocating for the resumption of hanging during a debate on penalties for capital and non-capital murder. He notably interrupted Justice Minister Delroy Chuck, urging “hang dem Delroy,” to which Chuck responded, “No, we are not going to hang them,” underscoring his personal opposition to the death penalty. Montague, unfazed, warned, “Well yuh only a waste yuh time then.”

While capital punishment remains legally permitted in Jamaica, the last state-sanctioned execution took place in 1988. In 1993, the United Kingdom’s Privy Council imposed constraints, ruling that it was inhumane to keep someone on death row for over five years, effectively halting executions.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness recently indicated a shift in his perspective on capital punishment, acknowledging the severity of violent crime in Jamaica. “I was never a supporter of the death penalty,” Holness stated, “but the more I study this matter and begin to understand the minds of the criminals, there are no souls there, (and) they have no heart.” However, he stopped short of committing to any policy change, deferring the matter of jurisprudence.