Death penalty on the consultation table for narcotics offenders

By Lagi Keresoma/

Apia, SAMOA – 8 September 2026: The death penalty will be one of the issues up for consideration when the Criminal Procedures Act 2016 is up for review.

This was confirmed by the Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Justice & Courts Administration (MJCA), Papalii John Taimalelagi who was presenting on behalf of the Ministry at the launch of the Lalaga Le Va Program this morning.

After his presentation, the public was given a chance to ask questions and most of the questions were on the penalty for drug offenders and the repeat offending by the same people.

Papalii explained that the court based its decision on the severity of the offence and the highest penalty is imprisonment for life.

A chart showing a stiff rise in illegal drugs offending with 80% of offenders sentenced to prison.

However, with the high incidence of methamphetamine in the country, the Government is looking at reviewing the Act especially with the number of very young people now affected.

Papalii said before anything is endorsed, there will be a public consultation on amendments to the Act and this is where recommendations and public feedback will be placed on the table.

Some of the recommendations already up for consideration are the years served by an offender before granting parole.

Currently the Act allows an offender to serve half of the sentence before applying for parole, but the intended review has already looked at a non-parole opportunity for drug offenders.

“Perhaps 40 to 50 years imprisonment if not a life sentence, but if things get worse, then perhaps another alternative should be considered,” said Papalii.

He confirmed that the death penalty sentence is only for murder offenders but has not been activated for decades.

The Ministry is currently working with the Office of the Attorney General and other stakeholders in preparing legal documentation for the review.

Part of the audience at today’s launch of the Lalaga Le Va Program that focused on the negative impact of illegal drugs on society.