The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)...

The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Appeal Court upheld the death sentences imposed on Kim John and Francis Phillip in 2003 for murdering a Roman Catholic priest and a nun. The two had been dubbed the "Cathedral killers" after they were convicted for the New Year's Eve 2000 murders. They men had disrupted a morning service at the Cathedral in the capital, attacking worshippers with lighted torches and pieces of lumber. Father Charles Gaillard, a St Lucian priest was among 13 persons whom the attackers doused with petrol before setting them on fire. He died several days after the attack. Irish-born nun, Sister Theresa Egan 73, was bludgeoned to death with a piece of lumber. During the trial, neither of the accused, both Rastafarians, showed any remorse for their actions. They claimed they were striking a blow against black oppression. Attorneys representing the two had argued that they were suffering from delusional disorder, a disease of the mind at the time of the incident and did not know the nature and consequences of their actions. But the three-member Appeal Court headed by Justice Brian Alleyne disagreed with the defence and upheld the ruling by the High Court that John and Phillip had hatched "a wilful, deliberate and premeditated" plan to burn down the Basilica and the worshippers inside.