On August 11, Prime Minister P

On August 11, Prime Minister P.J. Patterson promised in a letter to the Caribbean Rights Network, a "full and public discussion of the issue of the death penalty" before Jamaica decides whether to withdraw from the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights. "The proposal to withdraw from the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights is not a fait accompli," the Government said in a statement. This was done in an attempt to reassure human rights groups. Patterson has accused the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of delaying the appeals of Jamaica's death row convicts in order to thwart efforts to resume hangings.