The Supreme Court building in Belize
Highlights BELIZE
In early 2010, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) replaced the Privy Council as the fi nal Court of Appeal in all civil and criminal matters for Belize. However, the DPP continues to assist prisoners on death row and other prisoners where there is evidence of a miscarriage of justice in their appeals to the CCJ.
In 2009, some fi ve years after being convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, Francis Eiley, Ernest Savery and Lenton Polonio were granted their freedom when their appeals were allowed by the Privy Council on the basis that there was inconclusive evidence to support their convictions. They have always pleaded their innocence throughout.
At the time of writing, there are no prisoners on death row in Belize.
ST VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES St Vincent and the Grenadines retains the death penalty for murder and treason, although an execution has not been carried out there since 1995. In 2008, at least one death sentence was imposed; in 2009, none were imposed.
In 2009, a national referendum on constitutional reform, including provisions to replace the Privy Council with the Caribbean Court of Justice as the country’s fi nal court of appeal, was defeated.
The DPP has been working continuously on cases in St Vincent and the Grenadines since 1995; in 2009, we represented Daniel Dick Trimmingham in a case that has restricted the imposition of the death penalty across the Caribbean.
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Trinidad and Tobago still imposes the mandatory death penalty for murder and treason, making it one of only two Commonwealth Caribbean countries (the other is Barbados) to retain the automatic death penalty.
We have provided free legal representation in many criminal appeals to the Privy Council on behalf of men and women on death row in Trinidad and Tobago. In particular, we have been successful in bringing to light individuals suffering from mental illness. Most recently, in July 2011, Rajendra Krishna was released from custody after 27 years, following our successful appeal to the Privy Council on his behalf. As a result of signifi cant irregularities at trial which inevitably affected the safety of his conviction, the Privy Council ordered that he should be immediately released from prison.
The case of Chitrah and Malharri Dookran In 2001, Chitrah Dookran and her mother Malharri, an elderly woman in poor health, were convicted of the 1997 murder of Chitrah’s sister, Chanardai. They faced Trinidad and Tobago’s mandatory death sentence. In 2007, ten years after Chanardai’s death, the Privy Council held that without Chitrah’s alleged confession, which was found to be inadmissible by the Trinidadian Court of Appeal, there was not enough evidence to sustain her conviction. The Privy Council also had questions about Malharri’s statement to the police which she said was coerced. With questionable confessions and shaky witness testimony, the state’s only evidence, the Privy Council held that there was a “lurking doubt” in Malharri’s case and quashed her conviction as well. Both women were freed from death row.
Thanks for your hard work in proving my innocence. I’m trying to make the most of life... and am working on publishing a book. I went to a school the other day to tell them the importance of reading. Thanks, guys.” Francis ‘Chino’ Eiley Former prisoner convicted of murder, Belize
The Death Penalty Project: 2006 – 2011 report 15
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