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 enquiry into the practices and procedures at the Attorney General’s Office and of the Ministry of National Security. Gomez, who was also a practicing lawyer, said that the ruling by the Privy Council declaring as unconstitutional the mandatory death sentence in the Bahamas, had raised "serious societal" concerns and presented an "enormous" task for the new Attorney General "as a defender of the Constitution and the rights of citizens in The Bahamas."
In a statement, Gomez addressed a range of issues raised by the ruling, including what it said about the country’s commitment to human rights, and the possibility of government making compensation payments for the "many human rights abuses which have occurred since the 1963 Constitution came into effect in 1965."
Gomez said an enquiry would ascertain the entire circumstances in which "we have bungled the law and in the process of bungling, 16 persons have been killed." "These unlawful killings shall remain a blight on our society and call into question our commitment to human rights generally and the rule of law," said Gomez.