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After decades of campaigning, the mandatory death penalty for convicted murderers in Barbados has been abolished following a majority vote in the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
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The decision was reached after two appeals were sent to the CCJ regarding the fate of convicted murderers Jabari Sensimania Nervais and Dwayne Omar Severin. The cases were otherwise unrelated, but both challenged the automatic death sentence handed down to convicted murderers.
"It was indisputable that the nation, through its actions, had acknowledged that it had an obligation to remove such mandatory sentence under section 2 of the Offences against the Person Act," the judgment summary said.
The decision was then transferred from Barbados to the CCJ and the Inter American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), per national authorities.
CCJ President Sir Dennis Byron declared a mandatory sentence was unconstitutional according to the Offenses Against the Person Act, which provides the accused full protection of the law and allows the judiciary branch to tailor a conviction according to the crime.
Justice Winston Anderson, however, opposed the majority vote. He said opening the floor to appeals and removing the mandatory sentence would jeopardize the judicial powers, which have so far ensured "respect for, and adherence to, the ongoing evolution in the protection for human rights."
Still, the CCJ defended their decision, citing section 11 of Constitution which delivers protection under law. The appellants will be brought before the Supreme Court for a resentencing.
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