The pair also argue that apart from no longer being used by judges, even if it were used, the death penalty is prone to bias and error. Under law, it is reserved for the worst or the worst offenders - but even so, they argue, it's ineffective:
Jules Vasquez
"What is the biggest problem with seeing the death penalty as an effective means of punishment for persons who are guilty of the most heinous crimes?"
Parvais Jabbar, Death Penalty Project
"It's a very blunt instrument. It's not effective. And when you see some of the mistakes that have happened, and I've represented people in appeals from Belize where their convictions have been quashed because their convictions were unsafe, or they were actually innocent."
"So that kind of information helps to question whether retaining the death penalty is something that Belize wants to do. And also the wider question, which is if you have the death penalty for four decades on your books but not executing it, what is it there for? Is it symbolic? Is it providing some kind of reassurance?"
Godfrey Smith, Senior Counsel
"Always in the face of rising crime, the question arises whether one should resort to a return to executions. We think that a progressive, forward thinking government should come to grips with the question, and I think decide it once and for all. It will take some political will, it will take some political courage. But in reality, we believe that the arguments are firm and strong in favor of moving in the direction of getting it off the books."
