Amnesty International Report 1994 - Belize
- Document source:
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Date:
1 January 1994
Two people were sentenced to death and three people remained on death row. One death sentence was commuted. No executions were carried out. In June Prime Minister George Price of the People's United Party was defeated in general elections and was succeeded by Manuel Esquível of the United Democratic Party. Alfred Codrington and Lindsbergh Logan were sentenced to death in February. An appeal on behalf of Lindsbergh Logan was dismissed outright by the Court of Appeal in September, without a hearing. He remained on death row and an application for clemency was submitted to the Advisory Council which advises the Governor General. Alfred Codrington was awaiting an appeal hearing before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) in London, the final court of appeal for Belize. Dean Edwardo V squez and Catalino O'Neil remained on death row, awaiting an appeal hearing before the JCPC scheduled for 1994. They had been sentenced to death for murder in 1991, but were granted leave to appeal days before the scheduled execution in October 1992 of Dean V squez (see Amnesty International Reports 1992 and 1993). Ellis Taibo also remained on death row, awaiting an appeal to the JCPC. He had been convicted and sentenced to death in August 1992 for rape and murder (see Amnesty International Report 1993). In February the Belize Court of Appeal reduced the previous murder conviction of Francisco Conorquie to manslaughter and commuted his death sentence to 10 years' imprisonment (see Amnesty International Report 1993). In February Amnesty International appealed to the Governor General and the Prime Minister on behalf of the prisoners under sentence of death, expressing concern about the possible resumption of executions in Belize after eight years and urging that no further warrants of execution be issued. Amnesty International called for the abolition of the death penalty.
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