international human rights groups and local politicians condemned the first hanging for more than a decade in the tiny Caribbean country of St Kitts and Nevis

international human rights groups and local politicians condemned the first hanging for more than a decade in the tiny Caribbean country of St Kitts and Nevis as it emerged that the executed man had not exhausted his rights of appeal or had legal representation. Charles Laplace was sentenced to death in 2006 for killing his wife. Lawyers and politicians expressed outrage at an apparent lack of compliance with due process. "This man was executed in a bizarre set of circumstances," Opposition Leader Mark Brantley said. "Despite suggestions of a serious mental imbalance and the fact that he had sacked his lawyer for launching his appeal out of time, he was hanged within a very short space of time." Further questions are being raised about whether a mercy hearing for Laplace complied with the standards required by the Privy Council. "The circumstances of this execution are shocking," said Saul Lehrfreund, a human rights lawyer and executive director of the Death Penalty Project. "Anyone with legal representation would naturally utilise all available appeals if they are facing the death penalty. It appears this man was effectively executed without having been informed of his rights."