The Caribbean may be coming one step closer to finally...

The Caribbean may be coming one step closer to finally ridding itself of the scourge of the death penalty, Amnesty International said at the conclusion of hearings by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (Privy Council) which will determine whether a decision of the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal to the effect that the death penalty is unconstitutional will be upheld or quashed.
The ruling held the mandatory imposition of the death penalty is unconstitutional, as it amounts to inhuman and degrading punishment. It was delivered on 2 April 2001 by the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal and was subsequently appealed by the government of St. Lucia.
"The outcome of the Privy Council hearing could radically affect the implementation of the death penalty in the Caribbean and pave the way for restricting its scope, as a first step towards total abolition," Amnesty International added.
"If the Privy Council upholds the ruling, it will be in keeping with a global trend to move away from this cruel and senseless punishment," the organization said, noting that on average more than three countries a year are abolishing the death penalty for all crimes and that, even countries retaining the death penalty are moving to limit its scope - by permitting courts to take account of the individual circumstances of each case, for example.
The Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal adjudicates on criminal and civil appeals in St Lucia, St Kitts, St Vincent, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize and Dominica. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, located in England, is currently the region's highest court of appeal.