Dear Editor,

I am in full support of the call by King’s Council Peter Champagnie for greater access to the death penalty in what he classifies as the worst of the worst cases of murder in Jamaica.

In these times children have become an endangered specie, in need of urgent protection, as the most vulnerable in our society are preyed upon and slaughtered a dime a dozen, while the island of Jamaica becomes a public abattoir.

In instances of heinous killings, as is the case with young Danielle Rowe, when the conviction process is impeccable and appeals are exhausted, access to the death penalty as an option should be the normalised course.

We must demonstrate that Jamaican lives are valued and convicted murderers, so determined at the end of a diligent legal process, should face the death penalty if warranted.

But there is a condition which I would recommend, which is that of a one-year interval in the first instance so that the circumstances surrounding the use of the death penalty can be reviewed for efficacy and whatever other adjustments deemed applicable, after which periodic reviews are to be implemented.

Derrick Simon

Camp David, Golden Spring

derrickdsimon@yahoo.com