Monthly News Bulletin

January 2011

  • The Death Penalty Project’s 2nd annual lecture was held at Inner Temple, London. Wilbert Rideau, an ex-death row prisoner in Louisiana, spoke about his 44 years in the most violent prison in America (of which twelve years were spent on death row), and why we should try to save the lives of even the guilty on death row. Photos of the event can be found here. For details of the event, please click here. 
  • The Executive Directors travelled to Singapore to assist in the appeal hearing of Yong Vui Kong, a 22 year old Malaysian convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to death in Singapore. For more details, please click here. 

December 2010

  • Appeal hearing for Dennis Alma Robinson, convicted of murder in Bermuda, was heard in the Privy Council. Judgment is pending. 
  • Appeal hearing for Dexter Johnson, a British national on death row who was convicted of murder, was heard in the Supreme Court of Ghana. 

November 2010

  • The Executive Directors, together with the European Taskforce Mission, conducted a scoping exercise in Tokyo, Japan. We met with officials from the Ministry of Justice as well as local NGOs on potential collaboration projects. For more information, please see the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website here. 
  • British author, Alan Shadrake, was convicted of contempt of court in Singapore for Death Penalty book and sentenced to six weeks in prison. To read our Press Release, please click here. 
  • Application for Permission to Appeal was granted for Ernest Lockhart, a prisoner on death row in the Bahamas. 

October 2010

  • Applications for Permission to Appeal were granted for Tabeel Lewis and Marcus Jason Daniel, prisoners on death row in Trinidad & Tobago. 

September 2010

  • The Executive Directors co-ordinated a regional strategy meeting on the death penalty held on 24 September 2010, in Bridgetown, Barbados at the Residence of the British High Commissioner. The Executive Directors led a roundtable discussion on the status of the death penalty in the Caribbean region and ways forward to bring further reform and restriction. Participants included legal experts from Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados, Guyana, Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Jamaica.

August 2010    Supreme Court Summer Recess

July 2010

  • On 30 July, in the case of Mutiso v The Republic, the Court of Appeal of Kenya declared unconstitutional the application of the mandatory death sentence on all prisoners convicted of murder. As a result, hundreds of prisoners currently on death row in Kenya, including Mutiso, will fall to be re-sentenced in accordance with the new law. For more information on the death penalty in Kenya, please click here. 
  • On 29 July, an appeal against the death sentence imposed on Earlin White, a condemned prisoner in Belize, was allowed by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The death sentence was set aside and substituted with a sentence of life imprisonment. The judgment is important because the Lordships held that the death penalty should only be imposed in the most extreme and exceptional cases and only where there is no reasonable prospect of reform and the object of punishment can only be achieved by the death penalty. Specific guidelines set out by the Chief Justice of Belize, as well as the critical need to obtain relevant medical reports in capital cases were also emphasised. For a summary of the judgment, please click here.
  • Donnasan Knights was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Supreme Court of the Grenada. His death sentence was quashed by the Privy Council in 2008.

June 2010

  • The Death Penalty Project, in partnership with the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative, implemented a series of training events in Uganda. This included a Judicial Roundtable on sentencing in capital cases, a sensitization course for lawyers on capital cases and a separate Roundtable for Parlimentarians. Discussions with the Chief Justice of Uganda regarding the introduction of guidelines on sentencing in capital cases. Professor Roger Hood and the Executive Directors delivered papers at the training events. For more information about the training events, please click here. 

May 2010

  • In February 2009, we agreed to provide free legal representation to four prisoners on death row in St Kitts (Romeo Cannonier, Sheldon Isaac, Reudency Williams and Louis Gardener) who faced imminent risk of execution. We filed emergency applications in the Privy Council, as the government of St Kitts had refused to provide an undertaking that they would not carry out the death sentences whilst the cases were pending.  We therefore applied to the Court for Stays of Execution which were duly granted in February 2009.  Since the stays were granted, the Project instructed a clinical psychologist and forensic psychiatrist to obtain fresh medical evidence, which was then filed in the Privy Council. The case was heard in the Privy Council in May 2010 and was remitted back to the Court of Appeal.
  • The Appeal of Yong Vui Kong was dismissed by the Court of Appeal of Singapore on the 14th of May. For a summary of the judgment, please click here.
  • An Application for Permission to Appeal was lodged on behalf of Devon Collins, a prisoner on death row in Jamaica. 

April 2010

  • In Kenya, The Death Penalty Project assisted in bringing a constitutional challenge to the mandatory death penalty for murder in the case of Mutiso.  The case was listed and heard on the 14th of April 2010.  Parvais Jabbar, along with Edward Fitzgerald QC, attended the hearing. The Court has reserved judgment, and this will be handed down on the 25th of June 2010.
  • Applications for Permission to Appeal were lodged at the Privy Council on behalf of Ernest Lockhart, (Bahamas), Billy Davis,(Bahamas),  and Sydney O'Neil Gibbons, (Bermuda).  
  • In a judgment delivered on 30 April, the Supreme Court of the Bahamas ordered that Quincy Todd be released on a three year probation sentence. In 2008, the Privy Council quashed Todd’s death sentence and ordered the matter to be remitted to the Supreme Court of the Bahamas for determination of the appropriate sentence.

March 2010

  • The Death Penalty Project assisted in the case of a 22 year old Malaysian man convicted of drug trafficking. The hearing took place before Singapore’s Court of Appeal on 15 March 2010.  
  • Applications for Permission to Appeal were lodged at the Privy Council on behalf of Rajendra Krishna and Nimrod Miguel who are currently on death row in Trinidad and Tobago.

February 2010

  • The Executive Directors attended a conference on the death penalty in Geneva, at which they both presented papers.
  • Applications for Permission to Appeal were lodged at the Privy Council on behalf of Dominique Moss (Bahamas), Phillip Tillet (Belize), Curvin Isaie (St Lucia), and Vincent Dean (Bahamas).

January 2010

  • On the 21st of January, the Death Penalty Project organised and hosted a lecture delivered by Professor Roger Hood entitled ‘Towards Global Abolition of the Death Penalty: Progress and Prospects’, which provided an optimistic survey and analysis of the progress in relation to the restriction and abolition of the death penalty worldwide. The event, held at the Inner Temple, was attended by over 100 guests.  To download a copy of Professor Hood’s paper, please click here.
  • Applications for Permission to Appeal were lodged at the Privy Council on behalf of Kerron Joseph and Roderick Fisher,  who are currently on death row in Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica respectively.
  • Saul Lehrfreund delivered a lecture at the University of Sussex.

December 2009

  • Saul Lehrfreund delivered a lecture at the University of Warwick
  • Applications for Permission to Appeal were lodged at the Privy Council on behalf of Maxo Tido and Dennis Basden, who are currently on death row in the Bahamas.

November 2009

  • The Executive Directors conducted a training seminar at the Judges and Prosecutors Training Institute in Taipei, Taiwan. During the visit, the Executive Directors also held meetings with, amongst others, the British Trade and Cultural Office and the Taiwan Alliance against the Death Penalty.
  • The Executive Directors visited representatives of the British Embassy in Japan to discuss possibilities of the Death Penalty Project assisting the debate on the abolition of the death penalty in Japan.
  • Saul Lehrfreund delivered a lecture at the University of Reading
  • Applications for Permission to Appeal were lodged at the Privy Council on behalf of Denis Alma Robinson, and Deenish Benjamin and Deochan Ganga, who are currently on death row in Bermuda and Trinidad and Tobago respectively.
  • In judgments delivered on 17 November, the Supreme Court of Belize revised the sentenced imposed on Nelson Claros and Edward Massam to 5 years’ and 7 years’ imprisonment respectively. This followed the judgment of Crawford & Hill in 2007 where the imposition of consecutive sentences of 41 years and 36 years were manifestly excessive and out of line with the principle of totality.

October 2009

  • Applications for Permission to Appeal were lodged at the Privy Council on behalf of Marcus Jason Daniel and Tabeel Lewis, who are currently on death row in Trinidad.
  • The Executive Directors assisted in ten re-sentence hearings in Grenada. 

 September 2009

  • 8-11 September 2009: The Executive Directors held meetings in Uganda with the Foundation for Human Rights Initative and Katende, Ssempebwa Attorneys followed by a meeting in Kenya with Timothy Bryant, Attorney at Law from the NGO CLEAR. 

August 2009

  • 27 August 2009: We lodged an Application for Permission to Appeal with the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the case of Gary Bates a prisoner in the Bahamas who was sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment.
  • 13 August 2009: We lodged Applications for Permission to Appeal with the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the cases of: Kirk Gordon (a prisoner in Belize serving a time of life imprisonment for his conviction for murder); Nigel Sookram (a prisoner in Grenada sentenced to a term of life imprisonment for murder); and Leslie John Webster (a prisoner under sentence of death in the Bahamas).
  • 3 August 2009: President Kibaki announced that he is to commute the sentences of all those on death row in Kenya. The decision will effect over 4,000 prisoners in Kenya. For more information see African Countries and Press Release.
  • 3 August 2009: We submitted our final written submissions to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the case of Tyrone DaCosta Cadogan -v- Barbados.

July 2009

  • 21 July 2009: Parvais Jabbar delivered a lecture to the Society for Asian Lawyers about the Death Penalty Project and its work to promote and protect the human rights of those facing the death penalty.
  • 21 July 2009: Saul Lehrfreund delivered a lecture on the death penalty and international law to the Commonwealth Secretariat.
  • 13-15 July 2009: Saul Lehrfreund attended and presented a paper at the Middle-East and North African countries (MENA) Conference on the Death Penalty in Madrid. The conference was organised by the Spanish Foreign Ministry and Casa Arabe. 
  • 10 July 2009: In the case of Akim Carter v The State from Trinidad & Tobago, the Privy Council quashed Mr Carter's death sentence and remitted his case back to the Court of Appeal of Trinidad for that Court to substitute an appropriate sentence in light of fresh medical evidence.
  • 9 July 2009: The Court of Appeal of Trinidad & Tobago heard the remitted case of Lester Pitman v The State. We arranged for Professor Kopelman a forensic psychiatrist and Dr Jessica Bramham a neuropsychologist to travel to Trinidad in order to give medical evidence on behalf of Mr Pitman.
  • 1 July 2009: The case of Tyrone DaCosta Cadogan -v- Barbados was heard before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights at the Seat of the Court in San Jose, Costa Rica. For more information see International Litigation.

June 2009

  • June 2009: The Project arranged for a clinical psychiatrist and clinical psychologist to visit and assess four prisoners on death row in St Kitts. Immediately after, the Executive Directors visited the four prisoners to obtain further instructions in their cases.
  • We designed and implemented two themed workshops in Beijing and Guangzhou for judges of the Supreme People's Court, and for provincial judges who also have the discretion to impose the death sentence. On 15 June 2009 the Executive Directors travelled to China to present papers at the workshops. For more information click here.
  • The Executive Directors travelled to Taiwan for various meetings arranged by the BTCO.  Discussions were held with the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty to discuss the impact of Taiwan's decision to endorse the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.  The Executive Directors also met with the Director of the Judges and Prosecutors Training Institute to organise a training seminar at the institute to be held in November 2009.
  • 22 June 2009:  The Privy Council delivered judgment in the appeal of Daniel Dick Trimmingham v The Queen from St Vincent and the Grenadines. In allowing the appeal on sentence Their Lordships quashed the sentence of death and substituted a sentence of life imprisonment. This is a critical judgment as the Privy Council allowed the appeal on sentence on the basis that the murder fell short of being the ‘worst of the worst’ so as to justify capital punishment. The Court also emphasised that the object of keeping Mr Trimmingham out of society permanently can be achieved without executing him.
  • 10 June 2009: In the case of David Noel v The Queen, the Privy Council quashed Mr Noel's death sentence and remitted his case back to the Supreme Court of Grenada for re-sentencing.
  • 10 June 2009: In the case of Steve Gilbert v The Queen, the Privy Council quashed Mr Gilbert's death sentence and remitted his case back to the Supreme Court of Grenada for re-sentencing.

March 2009

  • In collaboration with the University of the West Indies, the Project held a conference in Trinidad for key-stakeholders in government, parliament, the executive and the judiciary in order to explore the case for legislation to be introduced to abolish the mandatory death penalty. Professor Roger Hood and Dr Florence Seemungal's 2009 Report on the experiences and perceptions of judges, prosecutors and counsel to the mandatory death penalty in Trinidad & Tobago was also unveiled at the conference. The conference and the 2009 report built on the research findings of Professor Hood and Dr Seemungal in their 2006 Report on Homicide in Trinidad & Tobago. Click here for further details of the 2006 Report. For further details on the 2009 Report click here. For more information on the conference click here.
  • 19 March 2009: In the case of Millicent Forbes -v- The Attorney General, the Privy Council delivered judgment, dismissing the appeal.
  • 16 March 2009: In the case of Atain Takitota -v- The Attorney General & Others from the Bahamas, the Privy Council delivered their judgment. The appeal was allowed, upholding the amount of damages awarded to the Appellant for the violation of his constitutional rights.  The Privy Council remitted the case back to the Court of Appeal of the Bahamas to determine what sum of compensatory damages should be awarded. Click here for judgment.

February 2009

  • 26 February 2009: Saul Lehrfreund delivered a lecture at the University of Sussex on the death penalty and human rights law.
  • 13-14 February 2009: We organised a regional strategy meeting in Kampala bringing together all partner organisations working with the Death Penalty Project in Africa. For further details of the meeting click here.
  • We filed emergency applications in the Privy Council on behalf of four prisoners under sentence of death in St Kitts. The Government of St Kitts had refused to provide an undertaking that they would not carry out the death sentences on the four prisoners whilst their cases were still pending determination, and the Project therefore applied to the Court for Stays of Execution which were duly granted on 10th February 2009.

January 2009

  • 21 January 2009: The mandatory death penalty and excessive delay on death row were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Uganda in the appeal of Kigula and 417 others –v- The Attorney General assisting approximately 900 prisoners then under sentence of death.  See Press Release and African Countries for further information.