BELIZE JUDGE PRAISES UGANDA ON DEATH PENALTY

the chief justice of Belize hailed Uganda’s Constitutional Court for declaring mandatory death penalty as unconstitutional. “This is a bold, courageous, ground-breaking and forward-looking decision,” said Justice Abdulai Conteh.
Following a 2003 petition by over 400 inmates on the death row at Luzira Prison, the Constitutional Court ruled that the death penalty was not mandatory but depended on the discretion of the trial judge and the circumstances under which the crime was committed. It refused to totally abolish it, saying it was provided for in the Constitution. The inmates appealed to the Supreme Court, which is yet to hear the case.