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| More Than One-third of Trinidad's Death Row Inmates Probably Won't be Executed |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 02/21/2003 |
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More than a third of Trinidad's death row inmates probably won't face execution because the five-year time limit imposed by a London appeals court has expired, officials said Wednesday. Thirty-four of 86 inmates on death row have been waiting more than five years to be executed because of pending appeals, Attorney General Glenda Morean said. Their sentences will probably be commuted to 75 years in prison, she said. The London Privy Council, the highest appeals court for some former British Caribbean colonies, ruled in 1994 that waiting more than five years to execute a prisoner constitutes cruel punishment. Those sentenced to death can appeal to domestic courts, the Privy Council and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, based in Washington, D.C. Courts have not yet commuted the sentences of the 34 inmates, Morean said. It was unclear when the sentences could be changed. Morean has asked legal experts in Trinidad whether the country's laws can be changed to clear the way for the executions to take place. Murder and treason convictions carry an automatic death sentence in Trinidad, but there have been no hangings since 1999. The Privy Council has frustrated Caribbean governments by quashing several death sentences in recent years. Caribbean governments are seeking to establish their own appeal court in the region to replace the Privy Council. Caribbean leaders have said they want the Caribbean Court of Justice to open before the end of this year. |
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