Jamaica considers Jury Act amendment

Parliamentarians are to consider an amendment to the Jury Act to allow for at least nine members of a jury to convict a non-capital murderer.



At present, all twelve members of a jury must agree before an accused can be convicted of a capital offence.



Parliamentarians are to consider an amendment to the Jury Act to allow for a nine member majority verdict for non-capital offences, as opposed to the unanimous verdict of a 12 member jury.



Prime Minister Bruce Golding told Parliament yesterday that the Opposition is in agreement with the proposed changes as part of the efforts to deal with the country’s crime problem.



An earlier amendment to the legislation which is already before Parliament calls for changes in the selection of jurors to allow for persons registered under the Tax Registration Programme to be eligible for recruitment to the jury.



The latest proposal is to be formally laid in the Lower House at the next sitting.