Barbados to abolish mandatory death penalty

The Barbados government is moving to abolish the mandatory death penalty for convicted murderers as part of wider constitutional reforms.



Attorney General Freundel Stuart says the proposed constitutional changes will be brought before parliament for its approval.



Stuart says once the legislation is amended judges will decide on the type of sentence to be handed down based on the circumstances of the case.



He says the move was in keeping with the Government’s commitments to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to amend the legislation.



There has not been any hanging in Barbados since 1984.