Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Death Penalty: The Law Lords Alter Course In The Commonwealth Caribbean, Harold A. Young J.D./Llb, Phd

Journal of International and Global Studies

This article is a critical examination of the decisions of the Judicial Council of the Privy Council (JCPC) in death penalty appeals from the Commonwealth Caribbean from 1966 to 2008. It contributes to our understanding of how court rulings may be influenced by specific aspects of the judicial environment, which is shaped by the majority party in parliament, whose prime minister selects judges and which may make substantive changes in the law. In a quantitative examination of death penalty appeals, I find an increased likelihood that the court will set aside the death penalty when the judicial environment changes.