Gov’t to introduce plea bargain legislation

Government has started the process of introducing plea bargain legislation to the island’s criminal justice system.

That’s according to Attorney General, Dale Marshall who was speaking in Parliament on the Supreme Court of Judicature (Amendment) Bill 2023.

The Attorney General says during a recent two day seminar on criminal justice reform, all participants agreed that a plea bargain system would be useful to Barbados.

Under such an agreement, the prosecutor would provide a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or no contest.

This may mean the defendant will plead guilty to a less serious charge, or to one of the several charges, in return for the dismissal of other charges; or it may mean that the defendant will plead guilty to the original criminal charge in return for a more lenient sentence.

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