Jamaica, Man, Jamaica...

Jamaica May Try Hanging

Jamaica plans to bring back hanging to try to stem a rise in violent crime, the country's leader says.

"The Jamaican people are substantially agreed on the need to resume the death penalty," Prime Minister P. J. Patterson said in a televised speech on Sunday night. "We intend to heed the voice of the people."

The police say that 971 people have been killed in Jamaica so far this year. Last year a record 1,139 people were killed. The last hanging in Jamaica took place in 1988.