CHAPTER TWO
Offences

PART I
OFFENCES AGAINST THE PERSON

Sub-Part A – Homicide

Murder and Manslaughter

Capitalmurder
86. (1) Subject to subsection (2), murder committed in any of the following circumstances is capital murder —

(a) the murder of —
(i) a member of the Police Force acting in the execution of his or her duties or a person assisting a member so acting;
(ii) a correctional officer acting in the execution of his or her duties;
(iii) a judicial officer acting in the execution of his or her duties;
(iv) any member of the Police Force, correctional officer or judicial officer for any reason directly attributable to the nature of his or her occupation;

(b) any person for any reason directly attributable to —
(i) the status of that person as a witness or party in a pending or concluded civil cause or matter or in any criminal proceedings; or
(ii) the service or past service of that person as a juror in any criminal trial;

(c) the murder of a justice of the peace acting in execution of his or her judicial functions;

(d) any murder committed by a person in the course or furtherance of —
(i) robbery;
(ii) burglary or housebreaking;
(iii) arson;
(iv) any sexual offence;
(v) any hate crime;
(vi) any drug trafficking offence or other drug related offence;

(e) any murder committed pursuant to an arrangement whereby money or anything of value —
(i) passes or is intended to pass from one person to another or to a third party at the request or direction of that other person; or
(ii) is promised by one person to another or to a third person at the request or direction of that other person;
as consideration for that other person causing or assisting in causing the death of any person or counselling or procuring any person to do any act causing or assisting in causing death of another person;

(f) any murder committed by a person in the course or furtherance of an act of terrorism, that is to say an act involving the use of violence by that person which, by reason of its nature and extent, is calculated to create a state of fear in the public or any sector of the public.

(2) Where in the case of any murder referred to in subsection (1), (other than a murder referred to in paragraph (e)), two or more persons commit that murder, it shall be capital murder in the case of any of them who by his or her own act caused the death of, or inflicted or attempted to inflict grievous bodily harm on, the person murdered, or who himself or herself used violence on that person in the course or furtherance of an attack on that person; but the murder shall not be capital murder in the case of any other of the persons committing it.

(3) Where it is alleged that a person accused of murder is guilty of capital murder, the offence shall be charged as capital murder in the indictment.

(4) A person convicted of capital murder under subsection (1), may on conviction on indictment, be sentenced to death.

(5) Notwithstanding subsection (4) and subject to subsection (7), a person convicted of capital murder shall be given an opportunity by the Court, to plead in mitigation of sentence and the Court shall in such case take into account the following factors
(a) the gravity and nature of the offence;
(b) the character and record of the offender;
(c) any subjective factors which may have influenced the conduct of the offender;
(d) the design and manner of execution of the offence; and
(e) the possibility of reform and social re-adaptation of the offender.

(6) In addition to the factors specified in subsection (5), the Court may, if it deems it necessary, have recourse to any reports touching on the offender and the offence.

(7) At the hearing for sentencing, the family of the victim shall be given an opportunity to address the Court on any matter connected with the offence.

(8) For purposes of subsection (7), the Court shall in each case, make a determination as to who constitutes the “family of the victim”, taking into account the circumstances of the case.

(9) Notwithstanding subsection (4) and subject Joint commission to subsection (10) a sentence of death shall not be pronounced on or recorded against a person convicted of capital murder if it appears to the Court that at the time the offence was committed he or she was under the age of eighteen years.

(10) The Court shall sentence, a person referred to in subsection (9) to a period of imprisonment for a term deemed appropriate by the Court.

(11) On an indictment charging a person with capital murder, he or she may be found not guilty of capital murder but guilty of non-capital murder if the circumstances of the case justify such conviction.

(12) Capital murder shall be treated as a distinct offence from non-capital murder for the purpose of any appeal against conviction; otherwise capital murder shall not be treated as a distinct offence from non-capital murder for any other purpose.

(13) Where on an appeal against conviction of capital murder the Court substitutes a verdict of guilty of non-capital murder for the verdict of guilty of capital murder, the Court shall nevertheless determine whether the sentence of death is warranted under subsection (4) and shall confirm the sentence if it is found to be so warranted.

CHAPTER THREE
Procedure

PART VI
INDICTABLE TRIALS

SUB-PART C
Verdicts and Related Matters

Sentence and Proceedings Subsequent

Sentence of death not to be passed on pregnant women
1007.— (1) Where any woman convicted of an offence punishable with death alleges or it appears to the Court that she is pregnant the Court shall, before sentence is passed upon her, direct any two or more registered medical practitioners to be sworn to examine the woman in some private place either together or separately and report to the Court whether or not the woman is pregnant.

(2) If upon the report of any of the medical practitioners the Court is satisfied that the woman is pregnant, she shall be sentenced to imprisonment for life instead of death.

(3) Any woman who is under sentence of death may move the Court in arrest of execution on the ground that she is pregnant and the Court shall direct an inquiry and report as in this section provided and shall, if it finds that the woman is pregnant, arrest execution until she is delivered of the child or until it is no longer possible in the course of nature that she should be so delivered, and the Court shall direct the finding to be recorded and shall immediately report the finding to the Governor-General.

CHAPTER FOUR
Punishment, Pardon, Remission, Rewards and Miscellaneous Matters

PART II
Types of Punishments

SUB-PART A - CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

Conviction on verdict, confession or plea
1110. Any person who is indicted for any capital offence under any enactment, shall be liable to the same punishment, whether or not that person is convicted by verdict, or on confession, or plea.


Terms of death sentence
1111. The sentence, to be pronounced upon a person who is convicted of an offence punishable with death, is that he or she be hanged by the neck until he or she is dead.


Statement of time or place of execution in sentence immaterial
1112. Nothing in any law or usage in this State with respect either the time or the place of execution shall constitute an essential part of any sentence of death pronounced by the Court on the person, so as to render the sentence void by reason that the person was not executed at the time or place stated by the Court.


Court not to fix date for execution Judge’s report to Governor General
1113. The Court shall not fix the date for the execution of any sentence of death, but as soon as conveniently possible after the sentence has been pronounced, the presiding Judge shall forward to the Governor-General his or her notes of the evidence taken at the trial, with a report in writing containing any recommendations or observations on the case which he or she may think fit to make.


Place and time of execution
1114.— (1) The execution of a sentence of death passed on any person by the Court shall be carried out within the walls of the correctional facility in which the person is confined at the time of execution on such date as the Governor-General may by a warrant signed by him or her fix.

(2) Cabinet may make Rules to guard against any abuse in the execution of any sentence of death so as to give greater solemnity to the execution.


The Minister to appoint burial place
1115. (1) The Minister responsible for Correctional Services shall, by writing under his or her hand, appoint a fit place for the burial of offenders who are executed, and the body of every offender executed shall be buried in that place.

(2) For purposes of this section and sections 1116, 1117 and 1129 “Minister” means the Minister responsible for Correctional Services.


Officers to direct and be present at execution
1116.— (1) A sentence of death shall be executed under the direction of the Commissioner of Police or such other officer as the Commissioner may authorise.

(2) A correctional officer, medical officer and such other officers of the correctional facility, as well as a minister of religion approved by the Minister responsible for Correctional Services, shall be present at the execution.


Presence of justice and relatives of inmate
1117. Any justice of the peace, and such relatives of the inmate or other persons as the Minister may deem proper to admit within the correctional facility for the purpose, may also be present at the execution.


Proceedings after execution of death sentence
1118.— (1) As soon as may be after sentence of death has been executed on the offender, the medical officer of the correctional facility shall examine the body of the offender to ascertain the fact of death and shall sign a certificate of death which he or she shall deliver to the Commissioner of Police.

(2) The Commissioner of Police, the correctional officer, and such other persons present, if any, as the Commissioner of Police may require or allow, shall also sign a declaration to the effect that the sentence of death has been executed on the offender.


Inquest and duties of the coroner
1119.— (1) Without prejudice to the provisions of the Coroner’s Act No. 19 of 2002 or any enactment replacing it, the coroner in charge of the district in which the correctional facility is situated wherein the sentence of death was executed shall, within forty-eight hours after the execution, hold an inquest on the body of the offender, to inquire into and ascertain the identity of the body, and whether the sentence of death was duly executed on the offender.

(2) The inquisition shall be recorded in duplicate and the coroner shall deliver one of the originals to the Commissioner of Police.


Documents to be forwarded to Minister
1120. Every certificate and declaration as well as the duplicate of the inquisition required to be made under sections 1118 and 1119 shall in each case be sent with all convenient speed by the Commissioner of Police to the Minister responsible for Correctional Services, and printed copies of these documents shall as soon as possible be exhibited, at least for twenty-four hours, on or near the main entrance of the correctional facility within which the sentence of death was executed.


False certificate or declaration
1121. Any person who signs a certificate or declaration required under this Sub-Part which he or she knows is false is liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for two years.

Omissions not to invalidate execution
1122. An omission on the part of any person to comply with any provision of this Sub-Part shall not render the execution of a sentence of death illegal in any case where it would otherwise have been legal.