Bahamas
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1999
Data card
- Legal status
- Abolitionist de facto
- Executions recorded in 2026
- 0
- Executions recorded in 2025
- 0
- First news item in the archive
- JANUARY 1, 1999 · The death penalty is mandatory for murder
- News items in the archive
- 66
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
Bahamas is classified as Abolitionist de facto in the Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026. In 2026 the association recorded 0 executions in the country, against 0 the year before. The archive holds 66 news items on Bahamas, from 1999 to today.
Latest news
- FEBRUARY 13, 2008BahamasDEATH PENALTY
Senior Justice Anita Allen sentenced 35 year old Ian Knowles to death for
Senior Justice Anita Allen sentenced 35 year old Ian Knowles to death for
- JANUARY 1, 2008BahamasDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty is mandatory for murder. Treason and piracy are also capital crimes.
The death penalty is mandatory for murder. Treason and piracy are also capital crimes.
- DECEMBER 18, 2007BahamasDEATH PENALTY
the Bahamas voted against the Resolution...
the Bahamas voted against the Resolution...
- NOVEMBER 19, 2007BahamasDEATH PENALTY
BAHAMAS: DPM SAYS DEATH PENALTY MORATORIUM WOULD BE INAPPROPRIATE
it would have been inappropriate for the Bahamas to vote in support of a United Nations moratorium on the death penalty, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Brent Symonette
- NOVEMBER 9, 2007BahamasDEATH PENALTY
BAHAMAS: AG STRESSES DEATH PENALTY STILL LEGAL
despite the fact that there have been no hangings in The Bahamas since the year 2000, hangings are still on the books and could still be carried out, Attorney General Claire Hepburn said.
- OCTOBER 16, 2007BahamasDEATH PENALTY
BAHAMAS: MURDER ACCUSED FIGHTS DEATH SENTENCE
a man convicted of killing his lover in Grand Bahama appeared in the Court of Appeal in a bid to overturn his death sentence handed down by a Supreme Court judge.
- SEPTEMBER 19, 2007BahamasDEATH PENALTY
BAHAMAS. GOV’T TO LEGISLATE DEATH SENTENCE GUIDELINES
the Government in the Bahamas plans to bring a bill to parliament which would outline sentencing guidelines for murder convicts,
- SEPTEMBER 12, 2007BahamasDEATH PENALTY
BAHAMAS: HIGH COURT CRITICISES PARLIAMENT ON SENTENCING
more than a year after the Privy Council ruled that the mandatory death sentence in The Bahamas is unconstitutional, President of the Court of Appeal Dame Joan Sawyer pointed out that parliament has failed to pass any laws outlining sentencing guidelines.
- APRIL 20, 2006BahamasDEATH PENALTY
THE BAHAMAS. DEATH PENALTY HANDED DOWN IN HISTORIC SENTENCING
in an historic judgement, Senior Justice Anita Allen sentenced convicted murderer Maxo Tido to death for the 2002 murder of 16-year-old Donnell Connover.
- MARCH 13, 2006BahamasDEATH PENALTY
THE BAHAMAS. HANGINGS SINCE 1973 “UNLAWFUL”
the executions of 16 murder convicts in the Bahamas since 1973 could be viewed as "unlawful" killings at the hands of the state, given the March 8 ruling by the privy council, Progressive Liberal Party senator Damian Gomez said in a call for a full enquir
- MARCH 13, 2006BahamasDEATH PENALTY
THE BAHAMAS. THE DEATH PENALTY WILL BE CARRIED OUT, ATTORNEY GENERAL
if judges hand down death sentences, the government would see to it that they are carried out, said Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson.
- FEBRUARY 8, 2006BahamasDEATH PENALTY
THE BAHAMAS. RIGHTS ADVOCATE OPPOSED TO CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
Grand Bahama Human Rights Association Vice-president Joseph Darville said that he did not see anything good being achieved through capital punishment, as it only showed a disregard for the sanctity of human life.
- JANUARY 28, 2006BahamasDEATH PENALTY
THE BAHAMAS. DEATH PENALTY BACKED IN POLL
Prime Minister Perry Christie's decision to back capital punishment received overwhelming public support in an exclusive street poll conducted by The Guardian.
- JANUARY 27, 2006BahamasDEATH PENALTY
THE BAHAMAS. OPPOSITION CRITICAL OF PM’S DEATH PENALTY REMARKS
accusing Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie of pandering for votes on the issue of capital punishment, Free National Movement leader Hubert Ingraham said the country should not believe the present government will carry out hangings of condemned murdere
- JANUARY 26, 2006BahamasDEATH PENALTY
THE BAHAMAS. PRIME MINISTER DECLARES SUPPORT FOR HANGING
in what has amounted to his strongest statement in recent times on capital punishment, Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie declared his full support for hangings and said he would be willing to fight those who opposed the death penalty.
- JANUARY 1, 2006BahamasDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty is mandatory for murder. Treason and piracy are also capital crimes.
The death penalty is mandatory for murder. Treason and piracy are also capital crimes.
- NOVEMBER 2, 2005BahamasDEATH PENALTY
THE BAHAMAS. CRISIS CENTRE DIRECTOR SPEAKS OUT AGAINST CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
Dr. Sandra Dean-Patterson, director of the Women’s Crisis Centre in the Bahamas, said studies had shown that harsh punishments did not deter crime.
- MARCH 14, 2003BahamasDEATH PENALTY
Two men were handed death sentences in the Bahamas,...
Two men were handed death sentences in the Bahamas, at the end of separate murder trials in which the juries returned unanimous guilty verdicts
- JANUARY 9, 2003BahamasDEATH PENALTY
The Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme...
The Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, Sir Dennis Byron, called for careful consideration to be given to the capital punishment debate
- JANUARY 1, 2003BahamasDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty is mandatory for murder
The death penalty is mandatory for murder
- JUNE 26, 2002BahamasDEATH PENALTY
Following the brutal murder of the son of a prominent...
Following the brutal murder of the son of a prominent politician between 22-23 June, the Bahamas Christian Council joined other groups calling for enforcement of the death penalty
- APRIL 25, 2002BahamasDEATH PENALTY
Amnesty International called on English-speaking Caribbean...
Amnesty International called on English-speaking Caribbean nations to abandon the death penalty
- JANUARY 1, 2002BahamasDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty is mandatory for murder
The death penalty is mandatory for murder
- JANUARY 1, 2001BahamasDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty is mandatory for murder
The death penalty is mandatory for murder
- MARCH 10, 2000BahamasDEATH PENALTY
The prime minister of the Bahamas Hubert Ingraham declared...
The prime minister of the Bahamas Hubert Ingraham declared his personal opposition to the death penalty but said he does not propose to impose his own moral code and conscience on society
- FEBRUARY 24, 2000BahamasDEATH PENALTY
Tennel McIntosh, 20, was saved from the gallows when...
Tennel McIntosh, 20, was saved from the gallows when a jury returned a majority verdict of not guilty to the murder and rape of 24-year-old British schoolteacher Joanne Clarke on Paradise Island
- JANUARY 7, 2000BahamasDEATH PENALTY
Gary Hickinbottom, a solicitor with the London law...
Gary Hickinbottom, a solicitor with the London law firm, CMS McKenna, who led a team of British lawyers who acted for David Mitchell without charge, criticised the speed with which the Bahamian authorities had acted as a breach of international law
- JANUARY 6, 2000BahamasDEATH PENALTY
David Mitchell, 27, was hanged at the main Fox Hill...
David Mitchell, 27, was hanged at the main Fox Hill prison in the capital Nassau
- JANUARY 5, 2000BahamasDEATH PENALTY
Death row inmate John Higgs, 51, killed himself while...
Death row inmate John Higgs, 51, killed himself while under suicide watch
- JANUARY 1, 2000BahamasDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty is mandatory for murder
The death penalty is mandatory for murder