Death in paradise: The death penalty in the Caribbean—State independence or human rights?

• Covers attempts to abolish the mandatory death sentence for murder in Caribbean states, following independence.

What happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object? A gargantuan collision. In the legal world, two principles sit uneasily together and sometimes collide: state sovereignty and human rights.

This clash came to prominence in the ‘swinging 60s’. As well as the Beatles, the miniskirt and the sexual revolution, the decade was notable for the independence of many former British colonies, particularly in the Caribbean. This followed many years of agitation, strife and even violent uprising. But, having decided to grant independence, means had to be found to ensure the newly formed nations set out on their journey with minimum disruption. The upshot was that each former colony was granted a constitution by the UK sovereign in council under an executive order. The UK, itself,