four people had their death sentences commuted by a judgment

four people had their death sentences commuted by a judgment of the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal. Sheldon Isaacos conviction was quashed as the Court concluded that he was unfit to stand trial due to severe brain damage, while Romeo Cannonier, Reudeney Williams and Louis Gardeneros death sentences were commuted in life imprisonment. It was a result of a we filed emergency applications in the JCPC by the NGO “The death penalty project” on behalf of four prisoners under sentence of death in St Kitts, Romeo Cannonier, Sheldon Isaac, Reudency Williams and Louis Gardener, who were then at imminent risk of execution. Stays of execution were granted and because of worrying concerns about their mental health, a psychologist and a forensic psychiatrist were instructed to travel to St. Kitts to assess the appellants in order to obtain fresh medical evidence. The JCPC admitted the fresh medical evidence, and remitted the case to the Court of Appeal in St Kitts for further hearing.
Critically, the Court of Appeal found that a provision which imposed a 14 day time limit for appealing in capital cases was unconstitutional as it imposed an arbitrary limitation on the appellants’ right to appeal and infringed upon their right of access to the Court of Appeal to have their convictions and death sentences reviewed. The Court ruled that the provision should be interpreted in such a way to provide for a discretionary time limit with the power to extend in all cases equally. As a direct result of this judgment, prisoners facing the death penalty in St Christopher and Nevis will in future be able to pursue all domestic appeals without being subjected to this clause. This judgment will impact other countries, where similar unjust time limits continue to exist in capital cases. The judgment also reaffirms the long held principle that the State cannot condemn to death or execute any person with significant mental impairment.