





JAMAICA is now on its way to abolish flogging and whipping of prisoners as Cabinet recently gave permission for the enactment of legislation to abolish the practice, according to Justice Minister Senator Mark Golding.







The current law allows for the imposition of flogging and whipping as part of the judicial sentencing for certain offences.







Flogging refers to an individual being beaten with a tamarind switch while whipping resorts to the use of a cat-o-nine tail, a practice which dates back to the days of slavery. Abolition of this law, Golding said, will support the country's commitment against torture and international protocols against human rights violation.







The Obeah Amendment Act 2012, the Larceny Amendment Act and the reformation of the Flogging and Whipping Abolition Act 2012 are all intended to end judicial imposition of corporal punishment.







"Flogging and whipping is in breach of our international obligations. Jamaica is a signatory to the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights and the International Protocol and also the American Convention and these make the imposition of torture and inhumane punishment unlawful," Golding said.







The justice minister was addressing journalists at yesterday's weekly Jamaica House press briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister in Kingston.



Jamaica was placed in the spotlight and forced to discontinue the practice after an inmate, Errol Pryce, was flogged at the end of serving his sentence in 1997.







Pryce who was sentenced in 1994 to four years at hard labour and flogging with six strokes of the tamarind switch.







"He was flogged in 1997, the day before his release from prison after his sentence was reduced for good behaviour and so he took the case to the Human Rights Committee which ruled that Jamaica was in violation of international covenant on civil and political rights," Golding said. Since then, Golding said flogging and whipping was no longer carried out in the island's prisons or imposed by the courts, however, the practice remains on the law books, which is preventing Jamaica from ratifying the United Nations Convention against torture and cruel and degrading punishment.







With most civilised countries having already signed on to this convention, Golding said Jamaica would like to follow suit. "Jamaica is reviewed from time to time with our compliance and the human rights committee has pointed out that the fact these laws remain on our law books is a violation of the covenant and we want to clean up as much as possible our compliance," Golding said, adding that the country's non-compliance is taken into account by international development partners.







Golding said the abolition of this "degrading punishment" would also be timely as the country celebrated its 50th year of Independence.







With the legislation prepared and ready to be tabled, Golding said he is hoping that this can be done by next week.







"I am hoping it will be tabled next week in the Senate and passed before December depending on how much Parliamentary time there is between now and the season," Golding said.

























