Jamaica
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 · Jamaica is a British Independent Territory that retains...
- News items in the archive
- 122
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
Jamaica 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 122 news items on Jamaica, from 1999 to today.
Latest news
- JULY 6, 2004JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
The mandatory death penalty for murder in Jamaica was...
The mandatory death penalty for murder in Jamaica was abolished, winning a reprieve for more than 60 prisoners on death row, in a historic judgment from nine judges sitting in London
- JUNE 11, 2004JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
A Senate debate on the Caribbean Court of Justice was...
A Senate debate on the Caribbean Court of Justice was postponed after Jamaica's main opposition party filed a court challenge seeking to block establishment of the regional appellate body, officials said
- JUNE 10, 2004JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
Charles Learmond, the member of the Jamaican parliament...
Charles Learmond, the member of the Jamaican parliament for South West Clarendon, chastised his colleagues saying they were unwilling to take a firm stand on whether the government should hold a referendum on capital punishment
- JUNE 8, 2004JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
The London-based Privy Council was expected to hand...
The London-based Privy Council was expected to hand down a ruling that would affect the imposition of the death penalty in several Caribbean countries, according to a statement issued by the Barbados government
- APRIL 11, 2004JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
Murder is a capital crime, except for pregnant women, persons over 70 years of age and those who committed crimes when under eighteen years old.
Murder is a capital crime, except for pregnant women, persons over 70 years of age and those who committed crimes when under eighteen years old.
- MARCH 22, 2004JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
It was reported that hundreds of death row prisoners...
It was reported that hundreds of death row prisoners in Trinidad, Barbados and Jamaica could win a reprieve if an unprecedented privy council hearing beginning in London ruled that the mandatory death penalty for murder was unconstitutional
- MARCH 22, 2004JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
(continues from above)The appeal was the culmination...
(continues from above)The appeal was the culmination of a strategy deployed over the last six years by English lawyers working free of charge on behalf of Caribbean death row inmates
- MARCH 22, 2004JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
It was reported that hundreds of death row prisoners...
It was reported that hundreds of death row prisoners in Trinidad, Barbados and Jamaica could win a reprieve if an unprecedented privy council hearing beginning in London ruled that the mandatory death penalty for murder was unconstitutional
- MARCH 8, 2004JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
The Jamaica government warned criminals that the authorities...
The Jamaica government warned criminals that the authorities would move swiftly against them, as law enforcement officials urged the Patterson administration to resume capital punishment
- FEBRUARY 23, 2004JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
"In Jamaica, which has the highest rate of police shootings...
"In Jamaica, which has the highest rate of police shootings per capita in the world, evidence repeatedly contradicts police claims that they were fired upon first and indicates instead a disturbing pattern of extrajudicial executions," Amnesty said in a r
- AUGUST 19, 2003JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
"The last polls show about 82% in favour of the death...
"The last polls show about 82% in favour of the death penalty, even though there is no more evidence here than anywhere else that it acts as a deterrent," said Nancy Anderson, a defence attorney and activist with the Independent Jamaica Council for Human
- JUNE 9, 2003JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
Jamaica moved a step closer to removing Britain's Privy...
Jamaica moved a step closer to removing Britain's Privy Council as its final appellate court and replacing it with a proposed new Caribbean appeals court
- JUNE 5, 2003JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
Jamaican National Security Minister Dr Peter Phillips...
Jamaican National Security Minister Dr Peter Phillips said he was pursuing plans to have the death penalty applied to cases in which people were found guilty of the importation of illegal guns
- MARCH 13, 2003JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
A report released by Amnesty International stated that...
A report released by Amnesty International stated that Jamaican police deliberately killed a group of young men in 2001 in a high-profile case known as the Braeton Seven
- FEBRUARY 28, 2003JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
Jamaica has too many "questionable police shootings"...
Jamaica has too many "questionable police shootings" and the government of the northern Caribbean island is doing too little to punish the officers involved, said Asma Jahangir, UN special rapporteur on extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary executions
- JANUARY 28, 2003JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
The London-based Privy Council, Jamaica's highest Court,...
The London-based Privy Council, Jamaica's highest Court, overturned the conviction of Michael Pringle for the rape and murder of Kevan Davidson in 1996
- JANUARY 22, 2003JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
Court of Appeal Judge Seymour Panton expressed concern...
Court of Appeal Judge Seymour Panton expressed concern over decisions handed down by the London-based Privy Council, saying that while the English Speaking Caribbean's highest court had served the region well in the past, in recent years it had not been c
- JANUARY 19, 2003JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
Amnesty International condemned plans by Jamaica's...
Amnesty International condemned plans by Jamaica's government to resume hangings
- JANUARY 1, 2003JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
Jamaica is a British Independent Territory that retains...
Jamaica is a British Independent Territory that retains the death penalty, but for which the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is the final court of appeal
- DECEMBER 23, 2002JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
It was reported that Dr Lloyd Barnett, chairman of...
It was reported that Dr Lloyd Barnett, chairman of the Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights and a leading constitutional lawyer, accused Mr Patterson of using the death penalty for political purposes
- DECEMBER 10, 2002JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
In a statement issued to commemorate International...
In a statement issued to commemorate International Human Rights Day, Amnesty International Jamaica described capital punishment as cruel, inhumane and degrading punishment, stating that it opposes without reservation, the death penalty and views plans to
- DECEMBER 10, 2002JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
Justice Minister A
Justice Minister A
- DECEMBER 4, 2002JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
Prime Minister P
Prime Minister P
- DECEMBER 2, 2002JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
Jamaica plans to bring back hanging to try to stem...
Jamaica plans to bring back hanging to try to stem a rise in violent crime, the Caribbean nation's No
- OCTOBER 5, 2002JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
With 726 violent deaths since January in a country of 2
With 726 violent deaths since January in a country of 2
- SEPTEMBER 19, 2002JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
Caribbean Justice, a group working towards the abolition...
Caribbean Justice, a group working towards the abolition of the death penalty, said plans by the government to amend the Constitution, in order to circumvent hangings, would be "a serious breach of the rule of law"
- SEPTEMBER 17, 2002JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
Prime Minister P
Prime Minister P
- JUNE 18, 2002JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
The head of the Police Federation, Steve Brown, called...
The head of the Police Federation, Steve Brown, called for a resumption of hanging in the face of increased criminal activity
- MAY 28, 2002JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
Eleven Caribbean countries were cited in the latest...
Eleven Caribbean countries were cited in the latest Amnesty International report on international human rights violations
- MARCH 15, 2002JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
Several governments in the Caribbean are expected to...
Several governments in the Caribbean are expected to speed up plans to establish a regional court after a ruling by Britain's Privy Council that the mandatory death penalty is in violation of the constitutions of several countries