Lawyers stage silent protest over mandatory gun sentences

President of the Jamaica Bar Association, Tenneshia Watkins, along with veteran attorneys Peter Champagnie and Christopher Townsend were among a group of lawyers who staged a silent protest at the Supreme Court on Wednesday over provisions of Jamaica’s firearms legislation.

“We have seen the injustices in the system and we are now here for a change. The biggest issue we have is the mandatory minimum which has taken away the discretion of the judge totally,” Watkins said.

The attorneys are protesting what they describe as the injustice of the 15-year mandatory sentence for certain firearm offences, arguing that the provision removes the discretion of judges to consider the individual circumstances of each case when imposing a sentence.

The protest, organised by the Advocates’ Association of Jamaica and the Jamaican Bar Association, in collaboration with bar associations across the island, was held under the banner, ‘Enough Is Enough – Silent Protest: A Fairer Firearms Act for a Safer Jamaica’.

According to the organisers, the action is intended to draw attention to what they regard as shortcomings in the Firearms Act and its impact on justice, due process and the rule of law.

The lawyers assembled at 9:00 am on Wednesday at the Supreme Court Complex in Kingston and the Western Regional Gun Court. Participants were dressed in their court attire.

The initiative was presented as a call for reform of the firearms legislation, with the organisers emphasising the themes: ‘One Profession, One Voice’, ‘Reform for a Safer Jamaica’, ‘Protect the Rule of Law’, and ‘A Stronger Jamaica’.

– Tiffany Pryce

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