Minister of Social and Urban Transformation Rawdon Turner is calling on Parliament to establish a minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of life imprisonment for serious sexual offences against children and violent crimes involving firearms.

In a detailed statement posted on his Facebook page, Turner said parliamentarians must confront the question of what Antigua and Barbuda considers the minimum acceptable punishment for some of the gravest crimes committed in society.

“My position is clear. The floor should be 15 years. The ceiling should be life imprisonment,” Turner declared.

He argued that the 15-year term should be a statutory minimum and not merely a starting point from which discounts could reduce a sentence to three, four or five years.

Turner said the proposed sentencing range should apply to clearly defined serious sexual offences against children, particularly those involving rape, penetration, serious sexual assault, exploitation and other aggravated forms of abuse.

He is also advocating for the same sentencing range to apply to serious crimes committed with firearms, including shooting, wounding, robbery, rape and other violent offences.

“If you use a gun to shoot, wound, rob, rape or otherwise commit a serious violent offence, Parliament should be entitled to say there is a point below which the punishment will not fall,” he stated.

Turner pointed to Jamaica as a Caribbean example of Parliament establishing firm sentencing boundaries for serious crimes.

He referenced the 2018 Jamaican Court of Appeal case Ewin Harriott v R, which involved serious sexual offences against a child.

Turner noted that although the sentencing judge initially considered imposing 10-year sentences for grievous sexual assault, Jamaica’s Sexual Offences Act prescribed a mandatory minimum of 15 years following conviction in the Circuit Court.

The minister said the court was consequently required to impose the 15-year term, demonstrating that Parliament could establish a sentencing floor that judges were not permitted to disregard.

“That is Parliament doing its job,” Turner said.

He also cited the 2023 Privy Council case Tafari Morrison v The King, involving a firearm-related offence committed in Jamaica.

Morrison was 16 years old when the offences were committed and 17 when he was sentenced to the legally prescribed minimum of 15 years.

According to Turner, the Privy Council upheld the sentence, despite the offender’s age.

He said the ruling is particularly relevant because the Privy Council also serves as Antigua and Barbuda’s final appellate court.

Turner acknowledged that not every mandatory minimum sentence would automatically survive a constitutional challenge. However, he argued that there is nothing inherently unconstitutional about Parliament establishing a significant statutory minimum for a serious crime.

“Our Constitution protects every person from inhuman or degrading punishment. Any legislation we enact must respect that constitutional protection,” he said.

“But constitutional protection does not mean Parliament must surrender its responsibility for determining the boundaries of punishment.”

Under Turner’s proposal, judges would retain the discretion to impose sentences ranging from 15 years to life imprisonment, depending on the severity of the crime, the circumstances of the case, aggravating factors and the offender’s level of culpability.

A court could therefore impose 15, 20, 25 or 30 years, or life imprisonment in the most serious cases, but would not be permitted to sentence an offender below the statutory minimum.

Turner stressed that any amendments must be carefully drafted, apply only to clearly identified offences, remain proportionate and be capable of withstanding constitutional scrutiny.

“There comes a point when Parliament must speak clearly on behalf of the society it represents,” he said.

“For me, the sexual violation of our children and the use of firearms in serious violent crime have reached that point.”
Turner ended by calling on his parliamentary colleagues to act.

“Let us put the minimum into law. Fifteen years should be the floor. Life imprisonment should be the ceiling.”