St Lucia security minister calls for death penalty

St Lucia's National Security Minister Guy Mayers says that the process of carrying out the death penalty in the island needs to be expedited.



The national security minister’s statement comes against the backdrop of an upsurge in violent crimes in St. Lucia.



St. Lucia has recorded 16 homicides so far this year.



St Lucia's last execution was in 1995.



Since then eight condemned prisoners have had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment, following a Privy Council ruling that spending more than five years on death row constitutes cruel and inhumane punishment.