No parole for convicted murderers

While the debate over capital punishment has Attorney General Godfrey Smith formally answering critics in the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights in Washington, a statutory instrument has been signed in Belmopan which ensures that those murderers not put to death remain behind bars forever. The S.I., which amends the 1998 legislation establishing the parole system, denies parole to any offender sentenced to life imprisonment for murder. Belize, along with Barbados, has come under fire from the European Union for pursuing constitutional amendments which would abolish the appellate jurisdiction of the Privy Council in certain murder cases. This would pave the way for the carrying out of executions that the Privy Council would likely overturn if they had the chance to hear the case.