FEATURED POST

Communist Vietnam's secret death penalty conveyor belt: How country trails only China and Iran for 'astonishing' number of executions

Published
Image
Prisoners are dragged from their cells at 4am without warning to be given a lethal injection Vietnam's use of the death penalty has been thrust into the spotlight after a real estate tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to be executed in one of the biggest corruption cases in the country's history. Truong My Lan, a businesswoman who chaired a sprawling company that developed luxury apartments, hotels, offices and shopping malls, was arrested in 2022.

Saint Lucia Rejects UK Request to Scrap Death Penalty

Published
Government officials in Saint Lucia have rejected a request by the United Kingdom to waive its death penalty, in exchange for assistance in solving crime.

Saint Lucia is part of the Commonwealth of Nations which encompasses some 53 countries, most of which were former British colonies.

Saint Lucia's Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony has described the UK Foreign Office request "improper," while the Island's Foreign Affairs Minister Victor La Corbiniere says that as a sovereign state, Saint Lucia will decide its position on capital punishment for itself. La Corbiniere added that he will not be swayed by the UK or the European Union on this matter.

The death penalty is rarely used in Saint Lucia, with the last hanging on the island taking place in 1995.

"We will determine whether or not we abolish the death penalty and my government is on record as indicating that we are not at this moment going to consider the abolition of the death penalty. So that is definitely out," he said.

The island's leading human rights advocate, Attorney-at-Law Mary Francis says the time has come to reconsider the national position on the death penalty as a human rights issue.

"In Saint Lucia we have a constitution that guarantees fundamental human rights and freedoms, but that's only on paper to the extent that we have a court system which is not functional, we don't have properly funded government legal aid," he said.

When it comes to the death penalty, Saint Lucians are divided. Many young women, like Sharon Joseph say the death penalty should remain on the books.

"The reason is that if you do your crime why now ask for mercy?" she asks.

Some older Saint Lucians believe each case should be weighed separately to determine the extent of punishment.

The British High Commission in Saint Lucia has said the death penalty has no place in the modern world.

Government officials say they are aware that the issue of capital punishment is a contentious one and they are in no rush to make a decision on the removal of the death penalty from the island's constitution.

Source: TeleSur, December 16, 2014
Location: Saint Lucia
Related content:

Most Viewed (Last 7 Days)

Communist Vietnam's secret death penalty conveyor belt: How country trails only China and Iran for 'astonishing' number of executions

Published
Image
Prisoners are dragged from their cells at 4am without warning to be given a lethal injection Vietnam's use of the death penalty has been thrust into the spotlight after a real estate tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to be executed in one of the biggest corruption cases in the country's history. Truong My Lan, a businesswoman who chaired a sprawling company that developed luxury apartments, hotels, offices and shopping malls, was arrested in 2022.
Read more

Could Moscow attack suspects face execution in Belarus?

Published
Image
After the deadly terrorist attack at Moscow's Crocus City Hall, some Russian politicians are debating trying the suspects to Belarus, which still has death penalty. But it's not that simple. The terror attack on Moscow's Crocus City Hall has ignited debate about the reintroduction of the death sentence in Russia. Given that 140 people died and more than 500 were wounded at the concert hall on March 22, 2024, emotions are running high.
Read more

Bill Moves Forward to Prevent Use of Nitrogen Gas Asphyxiation in Louisiana Executions

Published
Image
There’s an effort underway, in the current legislative session in Baton Rouge, to reverse course on the controversial execution method with Senate Bill 430. When Louisiana legislators approved the use of nitrogen gas asphyxiation as an execution method during a second special legislative session in February, the move attracted national attention; not the least because it has only been used in the U.S. once. That’s when Alabama executed convicted killer Kenneth Eugene Smith on January 25th of this year. Now there’s an effort underway, in the current legislative session in Baton Rouge, to reverse course on the controversial execution method with Senate Bill 430.
Read more

Iran | 9 prisoners executed in a single day

Published
Image
9 prisoners of drug charges executed in the central prisons of Kerman, Chabahar and GhezelHesar According to the Iranian Human Rights Society website, on Sunday, April 21st, 2024, 9 prisoners including, Baloch and Kurdish drug suspects were executed in the central prisons of Kerman, Chah bahar, and GhezelHesar.  
Read more

Punjab | Woman sentenced to death for kidnapping, burying toddler alive

Published
Image
Neelam sentenced to death for burying toddler alive after kidnapping her, in a rare and heinous crime. The court found her guilty of murder and destruction of evidence, causing outrage in society. LUDHIANA: Over two years after the brutal murder of a toddler, the woman who killed her was sentenced to death by a local court. The convict had buried her neighbour’s two-and-a-half-year-old daughter alive. 
Read more

Alabama lawmakers reject bill which would allow some death row inmates to be resentenced

Published
Image
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - An Alabama House committee rejected a bill that would have impacted sentences for dozens of death row inmates. The proposal would have required courts to resentence people sentenced to death by a judge who overrode a jury’s recommendation of life in prison. That practice was outlawed in 2017. Representative Chris England passionately argued it should be retroactively applied for more than 30 death row inmates who were sentenced to death over a jury’s recommendation.
Read more