Capital punishment in Jamaica

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Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Jamaica. Currently, the only crime punishable by death is aggravated murder. The method of execution is hanging. Jamaica was originally a British colony. The last person executed in Jamaica was Nathan Foster, who was convicted of murder and hanged in 1988. The Jamaican Parliament had placed a moratorium on the death penalty until 2009, when it was lifted. Since 2009, capital punishment is legal and executions in Jamaica could resume; however, there have been no executions since.

In 1999, a series of hangings - by some accounts, amounting to 50 - were scheduled by the Jamaican government, following the recent hangings (the first in 20 years) in Trinidad and Tobago. Ultimately, after international protests, the executions were not carried out.[1]

It was estimated in 2012 that there were seven or eight inmates in Jamaica currently under a sentence of death.[2] However, by 2018 this had been reduced to zero, with no executions having taken place.[3]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Jamaica to hang dozens of convicts". Independent.co.uk. 21 June 1999.
  2. ^ "The Death Penalty in Jamaica". www.deathpenaltyworldwide.org. Archived from the original on 31 May 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  3. ^ "Death Sentences and Executions 2018" (PDF). www.amnesty.org. Amnesty International. 10 April 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2020.

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