Prime Minister Gaston Browne has given qualified support to Minister Rawdon Turner’s proposal for sentences ranging from 15 years to life imprisonment for serious sexual offences against children and violent crimes committed with firearms.

Browne said he agreed “in principle” with Turner’s position that Parliament must establish a clear sentencing floor for the country’s most serious crimes.

Turner has proposed a statutory minimum of 15 years, with life imprisonment available for the worst cases involving child rape, serious sexual assault, shooting, wounding, armed robbery and other aggravated firearm offences.

Browne agreed that tougher statutory boundaries were necessary but cautioned that legislation should not completely remove the courts’ discretion.

“Discretion is always necessary for the fair dispensation of justice because it is the member of the judiciary who will have the facts and can make that determination,” he said.

The Prime Minister said the issue was not whether judges should possess discretion, but whether that discretion was being exercised in a manner that undermined public confidence and public safety.

He disclosed that a member of the judiciary had referred him to a Canadian legal model that could allow Parliament to establish a presumptive minimum while preserving an opportunity for judges to impose a lesser term in exceptional circumstances.

Browne said the model could help the Government draft “nuanced language” capable of surviving a constitutional challenge.

He nevertheless insisted that sentences for heinous crimes must reflect their severity and clearly demonstrate Parliament’s intention to protect children and deter firearm violence.