Sentencing of former MP Jolyan Silvera will be open to the public

The sentencing hearing for Jolyan Silvera, the former lawmaker who pleaded guilty to killing his wife, will be open to the media and the wider public.

The hearing is set for March 6 in the Gun Court, which is not open to the public.

However, Chief Justice Bryan Sykes told journalists on Thursday that the sentencing will be streamed live on the judiciary’s social media platforms.

“Why then? Because we are now at the point where it’s just the sentencing that is left and that process is easier to manage at this point,” he said during a meeting with journalists dubbed ‘A Conversation with the Judiciary’ in St Andrew.

Silvera pleaded guilty on February 6 to manslaughter and using a firearm to commit an offence for the shooting death of his wife Melissa at their Stony Hill, St Andrew, home on November 10, 2023.

The former St Mary Western Member of Parliament for the People’s National Party was initially charged with murder.

It was initially reported that Melissa Silvera died of natural causes, but an autopsy conducted three weeks after her death revealed that her body had gunshot wounds.

Three bullet fragments were taken from Melissa Silvera’s body.

The trial of the former lawmaker has reignited public debate about the Gun Court Act, which was introduced in the mid-1970s in response the increasing use of firearms to commit crimes.

The thinking at the time was that witnesses in cases that involved the use of a gun would feel more confident to come forward and give evidence in circumstances where their identities would not be disclosed.

Follow The Gleaner on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.