Lesroy W. Williams

Observer Reporter

(Basseterre, St. Kitts) - Recent comments from the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, the Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas, have made it unequivocally clear that hanging is still on the books in the Federation.

At a march organized by the Methodist Church in St. Kitts and Nevis under the banner “March for hope, peace and unity” on August 29 through the streets of Basseterre and culminating at the Cemaco Parking Lot in Newtown, Prime Minister Douglas said that his government is in support of the death penalty.

“Those of you who point a finger at us and say that we need to hang people and say that the government is against hanging, that is not true at all. We believe that justice must be done and sentencing carried out,” Dr. Douglas, who is the new Minister of National Security, said.

According to Dr. Douglas, there was a recent attempt to carry out the death penalty on four persons, but it was aborted when lawyers filed appeals for their stay of execution.

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Dr. Douglas’ statement has fueled much speculation about the identity of those four persons.

On July 15 of this year, Justice Albert Redhead sentenced four men to be hanged for the murder of Gavin “Magilla” Gilbert who was shot to death at his home in Saddler’s Village on March 21, 2005. The four men are Romeo “Buncum” Cannonier, Ruedeney “Denny” Williams, Louis “Tooloo” Gardner and Sheldon “Hatcher” Isaac.

Three other men are presently on death row. Mr. Evanson Mitchum was sentenced on September 23, 2001; Mr. Al LaPlace was sentenced on May 30, 2006; and Mr. Travis Duporte was sentenced on July 20, 2006.

All seven men were sentenced for committing murder.

When contacted at Her Majesty’s Prison, Superintendent of Prisons, Franklyn Dorset, declined to comment on the four persons who were recently about to be hanged.

“I think you should ask those who have talked about execution. I didn’t say anything about execution. Ask the prime minister about it,” Mr. Dorset said.

Following an emergency meeting of the Mercy Committee, the recommendation to carry out the death sentence was put before the Governor General, Dr. Douglas said.

Upon further enquiries it was discovered that lawyers had filed the necessary papers for appeal, Dr. Douglas stated.

“We do our part, but others are also doing their part. The lawyers are doing their work, those that are to be hanged made reference to their lawyers, their lawyers got their papers together; lodged them at the appropriate place which is the Court and as a result of that the sentencing - the hanging is put aside for now,” said Prime Minister Douglas.

A Crown Counsel who works in the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions said that if a person is granted a stay of execution there must be a reason for the stay. According to the crown counsel, the lawyer representing the condemned person lodges an appeal and the stay of execution remains in force until the appeal is heard.

In the court of the first instance which is the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal, the appeal is heard and pronounced upon and depending on the outcome it can be taken to the Ultimate Court of Appeal which is the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council of London, the crown counsel said. The crown counsel further stated that an execution cannot be carried out until the courts will have pronounced on the matter.

The Privy Council is against the death penalty and views it as inhuman and degrading punishment. This position of the Privy Council goes against the position of many heads of government in the Caribbean who continue to keep hanging on the books with the argument that it is supported by the majority of the population.

With rising heinous crimes, among them gruesome murders, in countries such as Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad and other countries of the Caribbean, the death penalty is viewed by many as a deterrent to would be criminals. Opponents of the death penalty do not think so.

Crime is on the increase in St. Kitts and Nevis. Fifteen murders have been committed for the year and lawlessness appears to be on the rise.

In light of this, many people in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis are in favour of the death penalty, even some of the most religious of them. Not only are they in favour of the death penalty but they believe that murderers should be hanged publicly in order to send a strong anti-crime message.

“The wheels of justice must be seen to be turning and I give you a commitment again that those wheels will turn as long as I am in charge of this country,” said Dr. Douglas.