PUBLIC DEFENDER, Howard Hamilton, is hoping to get a list containing the names and cases of juveniles being held at the Governor-General's pleasure by today.
Mr. Hamilton told The Gleaner that the Department of Correctional Services is currently updating a list it has on its database and has asked Mr. Hamilton to wait until this week.
"They gave me this week. I expect it based upon what they said by about Wednesday. I spoke to them on Friday. They were working on it. They said that they had it on data base but they have to update it. I told them that I want names, dates, when they were all convicted so they asked me to give them about Wednesday to compile the names," the Public Defender said.
Mr. Hamilton expressed a willingness on Monday to spearhead an investigation of individual cases, following a recent United Kingdom Privy Council ruling, which deems it unconstitutional that juveniles who have committed certain crimes be held at the Governor-General's pleasure.
Mr. Hamilton told The Gleaner recently that investigators in his office will be visiting juveniles held at the Governor-General's pleasure in various Correctional institutions "to see what exactly we can do to give assistance."
Offenders who are detained at the Governor-General's pleasure are usually sentenced for committing capital murder while under 18 years old.
The main feature of the sentence is that it has no definite period of incarceration attached to it. If they were over 18 years old when they committed the crime, they would face the death
penalty.
The Privy Council, in its judgment last week ruled that offenders who fall in this category should no longer be held at the Governor-General's pleasure but at the court's pleasure instead.
This means that the judiciary will now have responsibility for the monitoring of these offenders.
Mr. Hamilton requested a list of persons detained at the Governor-General's pleasure because of offences committed as juveniles as well as persons detained because they were mentally unfit to plea.
