Attorney-General A.J. Nicholson: "Amnesty International can afford to be crass and disrespectful in claiming that the Government is 'offering to kill for votes'." - File ATTORNEY-GENERAL A.J. Nicholson, Q.C., Minister of Legal Affairs, accused Amnesty International yesterday of acting like zealots against capital punishment and questioned the manner in which it was pursuing the issue.
In a statement reacting to Amnesty's response to the Government's proposal to resume hanging after the next general election, Mr. Nicholson confirmed that the People's National Party (PNP) would be seeking a mandate to effect constitutional changes to allow for a resumption of hanging.
The last time the death sentence was carried out here was in February 1988 when two men were executed on the gallows of the St. Catherine District Prison, Spanish Town, for murder.
In a statement on Wednesday, Amnesty International rapped the PNP for proposing the resumption of hanging if it is returned to office and suggested that it was a ploy "to kill for votes."
In his statement, he said, "Amnesty International have been acting like zealots in the pursuit of the abolition of capital punishment worldwide. Whereas Jamaica does not quarrel with this pursuit of theirs, the manner of that pursuit falls for serious consideration.
"What Amnesty International should understand is that they are not a supranational governmental entity, such as the United Nations, to which Jamaica is tied by treaty or otherwise.
CRUSADING ZEAL AGAINST CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES
"The laws of Barbados, Belize and Jamaica mandate that capital punishment is the penalty for capital murder. The people of these countries do not share the crusading zeal of Amnesty International to have those laws removed from their statute books. They are of the strong view that, if the provisions of those laws are not adhered to, then vigilante justice and like pursuits will fill that gap. They see the inability of their Governments to carry out the death penalty as having the effect of undermining confidence in the judicial system and the rule of law.
"The Governments of Jamaica, Barbados and Belize seek to amend their laws and their constitutions to prevent this erosion of confidence among their populations in circumstances which their societies have for far too long been bombarded by the monster of violent crime and heinous murders. It is against that background that the proposed amendments have been made in the political manifesto of the People's National Party.
"Amnesty International can afford to be crass and disrespectful in claiming that the Government is 'offering to kill for votes.' For, when they do that, who monitors them? To whom do they report? What are the rules that govern their engagement with the people and Government of Jamaica and other countries?
"To whom do we complain about their strange position regarding Dahlia Allen, the one-time staunch human rights activist here in Jamaica, who the police say can assist them in criminal investigations? Who upbraids them or any of the membership of their satellite groups when such members are found to be in breach of fundamental human rights, the protection of which they constantly trumpet?
