International news flash--

You might be interested to know that hundreds of death row prisoners in Trinidad, Barbados and Jamaica may win a reprieve following an unprecedented Privy Council hearing which is set to begin in London. That's pretty exciting to begin with, but what you may not know is that most countries in the Caribbean have popular majorities that support a mandatory death penalty. Currently, death is the required penalty for a murder conviction.





According to a Caribbean news source...

The case is seen as so important that the Privy Council - the final court of appeal for former British colonies in the Caribbean, but made up mainly of UK law lords - which normally sits in panels of five, has decided to field nine judges for the first time.

The large cast of judges and lawyers means that the case cannot be heard as usual in the Privy Council building in Downing Street, but will be argued over six days in the Moses Room in the Palace of Westminster.

The role of the Privy Council as the final court of appeal for some former British colonies dates back to 1625. Caricom countries have resolved to replace it with their own Caribbean court of justice, but its gestation has been prolonged by political disagreements.