Member of Parliament for Tall Pines Leslie Miller called for the reintroduction of capital punishment because he believes justice should be served and criminals need to be taught a lesson.

During his contribution to the debate on the Juries Amendment and Parliamentary Elections Amendment Bill 2015 in the House of Assembly yesterday, Miller, whose son Mario Miller was murdered back in 2002, said with the hike in crime, it is time to take a stand and serve criminals with the correct sentencing.

“If we are not going to implement the laws of this country then it is the responsibility of each member of this parliament to bring back the dead then,” he asked.

“The Bible even says if you take a life you must appreciate that your life will be taken. In the U.S., persons who have committed murder have their life taken on a regular basis. Here in The Bahamas, even with the butchering going on almost every day, nothing is done!”

Mr. Miller called convicted murderers in the country inhumane and questioned how they went about committing heinous crimes. He urged other MPs to support him in doing what is right to end the crippling crime issue the country is faced with.

“We are in a serious crisis in our country,” he said.

“Every day you read the newspapers some innocent life is being taken and the tragedy is generations of Bahamians are feeling those pains for the rest of their lives. How can people say the state has no authority to take someone’s life? But, who gives them the authority to take the lives of others?”

Mr. Miller said the state has the authority to do what is necessary to combat evil in this country in the form of crime. He referred to crime as a “cancer taking out the guts of the Bahamian people.”

There has not been an execution in The Bahamas for the past 15 years.

Since August 2012, only one convict, Mario Flowers, is under the sentence of death.