Lately there has been a strong debate about whether or not the country should retain the death penalty on its books.

Finally, yesterday a decision was made to keep it. Now that it has been decided, one wonders if there will be another lengthy debate to determine if we should enforce it.

Given our terrible crime rate, the decision to act cannot be another lengthy one with arguments for or against. It is the law and we need to practise it. At this point in our nation's development, there is a sense of widespread fear, people are afraid to leave their homes because they might not be so fortunate as to return.

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Whether or not we are going to actually hang the criminals is left to be seen, but one thing is certain, gunmen in Jamaica need to know that we do not want them here and if they kill people, they will suffer the consequences.

In last Tuesday's Gleaner, it seemed that quite a number of persons felt it was about time we resumed hanging and so we hope our parliamentarians will not shy away from being strong and upholding the law.

If enforcing the death penalty is not the way chosen to send a swift, sharp message to criminals, then they must find an alternative soon that will have a strong impact.