Death penalty in the Caribbean: could it finally be on its way out?

Written by Millie Wakefield

Edited by Diana Ciurezu

Death penalty in the Caribbean

In the Caribbean, the death penalty exists by legal right, except in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, which respectively abolished it in 1969 and 1987. Amnesty records that the last executions in the Caribbean were carried out in St Kitts and Nevis in 2008, the Bahamas in 2000, and Trinidad and Tobago in 1999. Additionally, Grenada has not carried out any executions since 1978 and no one has been executed in Barbados, Dominica or Jamaica since the 1980s.

Reduction of the use of the death penalty in the Caribbean

In the Caribbean, Amnesty documented that in the past 25 years, the number of people on death row dropped by over 70% as a result of judicial standards set by regional and international bodies as well as a progressive decline in the resort to the death penalty as a sentencing option.

Consequently, it has been questioned if the legislation of the Death Penalty in the Caribbean may be on its way out?

Caribbean Court of Justice - Positive Changes?

The Caribbean Court of Justice has been created, it was to be the final court of appeal, replacing the Privy Council. The only people who can get to the Privy Council are the very rich or the death row inmates who benefit from a pro bono service from lawyers in London. The Caribbean court will be less costly, more accessible, and above all more credible as a final court of appeal.

However, many governments including Jamaica are playing politics on the issue, so that at present only Barbados and Guyana allow appeals to the CCJ. Another downside Lord Anthony Gifford has shown is that the Caribbean Court of Justice will not reverse the decisions of the Privy Council. Those decisions were based on a consensus of authority from courts around the world, and the CCJ has already shown that it respects that consensus in Joseph and Boyce v Attorney General of Barbados, which is a shame. However, the development of the Caribbean Court of Justice indicates a step in the right direction for the Caribbean.

Barbados and Jamaica

Although positive changes have been happening in the Caribbean that is not the case in all countries. For example, Barbados seem to have taken a step backwards in their progress. Lord Anthony Gifford has illustrated that in 2002 Barbados passed constitutional amendments which overruled many of the judge's decisions and their judgments, which were considered a good indication forward to removing the death penalty. The judgements have been ignored and have stated to be incorrect. Barbados declared that it would not be unconstitutional to execute after a delay, which could be however long, nor was it considered unconstitutional to impose a mandatory sentence of death, nor to execute a condemned prisoner while he is still waiting for a ruling from an international body.

Additionally, it would appear that Jamaica is considering the same backward approach.

A Jamaican prison riot

However, overall, it would appear that Caribbean countries retain the death penalty in theory. In practice, they may only impose it in the rarest of cases: after a judicial hearing, two appeals, references to international bodies, and a final decision by the local advisory body.

The future of the death penalty in the Caribbean

Lord Anthony Gifford states that the current situation regarding the death penalty in the Caribean can go in one of two directions: backwards or forwards. As it has been shown Barbados appear to be taking the former approach. The majority of the rest of the world have chosen the latter approach recognising that killing people, some of them innocent people, is not the answer to crime.

Recently in March 2019, the governor Gavin Newsom in California halted further executions. He stated ‘Our death penalty system has been — by any measure — a failure. It has provided no public safety benefit or value as a deterrent. It has wasted billions of taxpayer dollars. But most of all, the death penalty is absolute, irreversible and irreparable in the event of a human error.’ It is only a matter of time until Caribean countries who use the death penalty follow the approach of the majority of the world, that the death penalty is a cruel and irreversible deterrent to crime and statistics around the world have shown this.

What can you do?

The death penalty often discriminates against the poorest and most disadvantaged members of society. Therefore, many organisations help the vulnerable that cannot afford legal representation, such as The Death Penalty project which is run by Simons Muirhead & Burton LLP who work strategically to safeguard the rights of those facing the death penalty and other vulnerable prisoners. Additionally, Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 7 million people in over 150 countries and territories who campaign to end abuses of human rights. Donating can help fund the legal representation which the most vulnerable and poorest people need facing the death penalty all around the world.