St Lucian government seeks bi-partisan support for hanging

The Leader of the Opposition in St Lucia has responded to an invitation from the Prime Minister to work with the government to remove obstacles to hanging.



Prime Minister Stephenson King’s invitation comes as the government seeks solutions to a growing murder rate.



King says St Lucia could follow the Trinidad and Tobago's example in working toward a bipartisan approach to making it easier to carry out hangings.



However, Opposition Leader Kenny Anthony says the legal impediments are more onerous in his country, requiring a special majority as well as a referendum to overcome Privy Council restrictions.



The last hanging in St Lucia took place in 1995, and since then eight convicts have had their death sentences commuted to life imprisonment.