Those broad opinions on the death penalty that were ventilated in our headline story are only part of a swelling chorus of support for capital punishment across Belize. It's the product of a desperate and terrorized populace grown weary of a system that - in the eyes of many - is just too soft on hardened killers. Well, the good news tonight is that if you want someone to hang, it could be happening sooner than you think. The Leader of the Opposition yesterday sent the Prime Minister a letter recommending a constitutional amendment which proposes that in criminal cases, where there is a capital offence, the appeal process should end with the Belize Court of Appeal. This means eliminating the Privy Council as the highest court for those matters. The letter was sent this morning, and by lunch the Prime Minister had called Barrow, and by this evening they had agreed to bi-partisan support for the amendment - carrying it ahead with even immodest haste - if needs be. This light speed work towards political consensus is unprecedented, but this evening, just after he'd met with the PM, Barrow told us it's a progressive move towards not only a popular decision, but a morally sound one:
Hon. Dean Barrow
He has embraced the proposal, and there is now an agreement that the government will at some stage, and it might be as early as Friday's house meeting, table, or at least put forward a motion to the effect of what I suggested in the letter.
Jules Vasquez
So it may become a reality. Finally, I know you had proposed it in your term of office as Attorney General, but you were unable to advance it.
Hon. Dean Barrow
Right. We never had the requisite majority. In this case the government has the requisite majority so it really doesn't need our support.
Jules Vasquez
And the Opposition's support?
Hon. Dean Barrow
But the Opposition has initiated the thing and now that the government has taken it up, clearly there is going to be full House support for it.
Jules Vasquez
Who gets to claim the thunder for this?
Hon. Dean Barrow
Well, I don't know if it is about claiming thunder. But you have the letter, you know that this was our initiative, that in fact it's not a new initiative that we had proposed it, what, four, five maybe six years ago. But I don't think, I really don't want to get into the question of trying to claim credit. I think it is something that the society wants to see happen.
Jules Vasquez
You send this letter to go on record saying that you support it and believing that in keeping with traditional political wisdom, the Prime Minister would reject it because it comes from the Leader of the Opposition. However, he has embraced it, and in so embracing it, he has taken the momentum, which you would have hoped to yourself claim, and when someone hangs, which will please the populace and the electorate, in maybe early next year, he will claim the glory from that.
Hon. Dean Barrow
Well, if the Prime Minister wants to claim political glory, that's fine. I wrote the letter out of a genuine motivation to see this thing happen. As I said...
Jules Vasquez
But you couldn't have expected him to bite on it?
Hon. Dean Barrow
Why not, Jules. Given what has been happening, especially over the last few days. And given that indeed public sentiment is running extremely high. Why don't you, if you wanted to play that game, think in terms of giving me credit for perhaps boxing the Prime Minister into a corner and getting exactly what I wished, which is that in fact, we bring back hanging. The Privy Council's Appeals process has been abused and so I think the society will welcome any effort to bring finality to an appeal process which is likely to result in hangings, in fact now being implemented in this country. I think people want this to happen, I certainly want it to happen and I make no apologies about that and I think it is going to happen.
Jules Vasquez
How soon?
Hon. Dean Barrow
Well remember that this, because what you are doing is trying to, as it were, displace what is constitutionally entrenched, there would have to be the 90 day waiting period. In other words the government can bring it forward as soon as possible but there will have to be a period of 90 days before it can actually be debated.
Jules Vasquez
You have a very important case for your party, that you hope to take to the Privy Council. Are you saying that the Privy Council is good for UDP and parcel 912 but if you are, most of the people are here who receive the death penalty, all those on death row are poor they're all, with the exception of two I believe, black males. If you are that person, you don't deserve the Privy Council, but the UDP does for parcel 912?
Hon. Dean Barrow
Well, I think you are comparing apples and oranges. You're talking about the Privy Council continuing to act as a court of last resort with respect to civil matters, period. That's not favoring the UDP in particular. I suppose bleeding heart liberals who are against the death penalty can put a lot of sinister spins on it and when you begin to bring up the question of who the people are that in fact, presently reside on death row. I mean, that's extremely intriguing but, I'm not going to go there. I think that whoever you are, if you commit capital murder, especially of the senseless, brazen, callous, particularly vicious types that we've been seeing of late, and a jury of your peers convicts you, and you go to the Court of Appeal, and the Court of Appeal says that conviction ought to stand, then you must suffer the ultimate consequence.
And before you could say let the gamesmanship begin, the Prime Minister's office this evening sent out a release stating that the PM is pleased that Barrow has joined the conversation relating to capital punishment. As you saw in our interview, Barrow claims to have started that discussion six years ago at the Legislative level.