ALL IS IN PLACE NOW for judges to once again sentence convicted murderers to hang.
That’s because the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2019 was passed by both Houses of Parliament last week, and given the assent by Governor General Dame Sandra Mason on April 4, to make it law.
The amendment changed the Constitution by deleting the provision in Section 15 that made it the mandatory death sentence for murder. The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) had ruled in January 2018 that such a provision was unconstitutional.
Attorney General Dale Marshall, addressing a Barbados Labour Party St Peter branch meeting at Black Bess Pavilion Sunday night, said justice might now be better served.
“For years we’ve had a death penalty which has been mandatory. Our law used to say if you are charged with murder and convicted, you will be hanged. Now what that meant is that the judges weren’t deciding, it was Parliament that decided what to do with the law.
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