The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement (FNM) leader Michael Pintard couldn’t say yesterday whether his party would remove the Privy Council as the highest appellate court for murder convictions if elected to increase the likelihood that the death penalty sentencing would be upheld.

He spoke after FNM Senator Darren Henfield voiced support for capital punishment and said the Court of Appeal should replace the Privy Council as the final authority in such cases. The constitution allows parliamentarians to pass ordinary legislation that allows this while maintaining the Privy Council as the final appellate court for other matters.

Attorney General Ryan Pinder told The Tribune the Davis administration is not considering Mr Henfield’s recommendation.

Mr Pintard, meanwhile, said the FNM has yet to discuss the possibility thoroughly. He said some members have already raised the issue through various party channels but emphasised the importance of further consultations among parliamentarians, party members, and relevant stakeholders to fully consider the implications of such a transition.

“We believe that that position is one of the things that is on the table,” he said. “So we do not rule it out, but nor at this time am I willing to confirm it.”

Although the law allows for capital punishment, the death penalty has not been enforced since January 2000, when David Mitchell was executed for stabbing two German tourists to death.

In 2006, the London-based Privy Council ruled that the country’s mandatory death sentence for convicted murderers was unconstitutional.

While in opposition, former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis pledged that if elected, he would immediately seek to amend the constitution to remove the UK-based Privy Council as the highest court of appeal for murder convicts.

However, that never happened, and FNM legislators did not publicly call for action.

In a voice note yesterday, Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) chairman Fred Mitchell criticised Mr Henfield’s position, calling it “shameless pandering.”

“Last week in the House, I asked the FNM what more they want us to do now. Now, they have the answer: hanging something which they couldn’t figure out to do and something which they know is not now possible in Bahamian jurisprudence and law. The senator is a lawyer, and he knows life is not simple, nor is justice that simple.” 

Mr Mitchell noted that the Privy Council only permits executions in the most severe cases, with no prospect of rehabilitation, a standard he said no Caribbean country has met.

He said: “So now here you have the FNM politician, the one who served in the government for four and a half years. During that time, the FNM hanged not one person. If they were so convinced that hanging was the answer, why didn’t they do it?”