PM Browne not in favor of death penalty

While speaking on the Browne and Browne Show over the weekend, Prime Minister Gaston Browne revealed that he is not in favor of capital punishment.

The topic of the death penalty has come to the forefront once again in Antigua and Barbuda after hundreds of residents have been demanding its return following the alleged abduction and murder of nine-year-old Chantel Crump.

Capital punishment has long been a topic of divide – not only in Antigua and Barbuda, but worldwide – as some believe it is inhumane to take a life and that these convicted felons should instead serve life in prison.

Others believe it is a justified punishment for the level of crimes these criminals have committed.

And while many residents believe it would be a justified penalty for such a heinous crime, the PM sits on the other side of the fence on the matter with his beliefs.

“We have actually strengthened the fines and sentences for heinous crimes. We have practically doubled the time spent in jail. Insofar as capital punishment, I can’t tell you that I am a fan of capital punishment. Killing people is just wrong at all levels and I don’t know if reprisal killings for somebody that kills, that that in itself is a solution to anything, but that’s just my personal opinion. Again, I do not think it is a deterrence,” Browne said.  

While he accepted that there are persons who would like to see its return, he cautioned that the legal impediments could work in favor of these death row inmates.

He was referencing the Pratt and Morgan case where once a criminal spends more than five years in prison then it is inhumane to keep them locked up and then follow through with the death sentence.

“The judicial system is such that a person who is convicted of a homicide can almost invariably drag it out for five years, and then, you have your sentence virtually commuted to life imprisonment. There are some limitations there, even though some people argue that they would like to see the return of the death penalty,” he added.

Residents took the streets on Saturday morning protesting in front of the Police Headquarters on Queen Elizabeth Highway calling for the death penalty and for justice to be served for Chantel.

A young woman, 20-year-old Angela Mejia has been subsequently charged with Crump’s murder less than 24 hours after the young girl’s lifeless body was discovered hidden in bushes in the Weatherills area on Saturday morning.

It is alleged that Mejia abducted the child in a Honda car on Number 2 George Street in Grays Farm on Wednesday afternoon, just as the Five Islands Primary student was making her way home from school.

Witness accounts; some of her classmates, suggest that Chantel waved goodbye to her schoolmates from the vehicle, marking the last time she was seen alive.

Upon her arrest, Mejia reportedly led law enforcement officials to the location where Chantel’s body was found, further intensifying the public’s outrage and outcry for justice.

The tragic circumstances of Chantel’s death have sparked nationwide calls for swift legal action against those responsible.

Acting Commissioner Everton Jeffers is calling on residents of Grays Farm and the wider communities to remain calm and exercise patience, while the police continue with their investigation.

He further reassures the nation that no efforts are being spared to ensure full closure is brought to this matter.

He appeals to anyone with additional information to contact the Criminal Investigations Department at 462-3913 or call the Crimestoppers anonymous hotline number at 800-8477.