A referendum on the death penalty for premeditated murder was held in Bermuda on 12 August 1990.[2] The referendum was held following pressure from the United Kingdom government. The Parliament of Bermuda passed the Capital Punishment Referendum Act 1989 to provide for the referendum.[1] Voters approved of retaining the penalty, with 79% voting in favour.[3]
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12 August 1990
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Are you in favour of capital punishment for premeditated murder in Bermuda?[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered voters figure is rounded. Sources:[2][3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The death penalty was later abolished in December 1999 by the Parliament of Bermuda.[4]
History
editAs a British Overseas Territory, Bermuda had traditionally inherited British law with regards to legal punishments. The United Kingdom abolished the death penalty for murder in 1969,[5] but retained it for the crimes of arson in royal dockyards, treason, piracy and espionage.[6] However, this abolition did not extend to Bermuda due to them having self governance.[7] The Parliament of Bermuda had debated abolishing it in 1979 following the hangings of Erskine Burrows and Larry Tacklyn for murdering the Governor, Sir Richard Sharples but nothing came of it.[8] In 1989, they passed a law authorising a referendum to be held to determine if the public wished for Bermuda to retain the death penalty for premeditated murder.[9] However, the referendum would be non-binding on the government.[10]
Results and aftermath
editThe referendum was the first ever called in Bermuda. The voters were asked if they supported or opposed retention of the death penalty. 79% of Bermudans who voted, voted in favour of retaining the death penalty.[10] However, participation was low with only around 32% of the eligible electorate turning out to vote.[11]
The death penalty was abolished in 1991 in all other British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean due to the Caribbean Territories (Abolition of Death Penalty for Murder) Order 1991,[12] though this did not extend to Bermuda.[7] By 1997,a majority of Bermudian MPs had indicated they were against the death penalty.[13] In December 1999, the Parliament of Bermuda voted to abolish the death penalty for any offence, effective from 1 January 2000.[14][15]
References
edit- 1 2 "Bermuda Consolidated Legislation: Capital Punishment Referendum Act 1989". commonlii.org. 22 June 1989. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
- 1 2 Benbow, Colin (12 August 1998). "The yawn of August". Bermuda Sun. Archived from the original on 5 October 1999.
Rounding out the actual numbers, of the 33,700 eligible voters, 10,800 bothered to show up. This was a third of the electorate. There were 109 spoilt ballots
- 1 2 Cranborne [Viscount], Robert Gascoyne-Cecil (9 February 1994). "The Dependent Territories". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 551. Lords. col. 1601.
There were 8,536 votes in favour of retention of the death penalty and 2,237 in favour of abolition
- ↑ "Bermuda Consolidated Legislation: Abolition of Capital and Corporal Punishment Act 1999". commonlii.org. 23 December 1999. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
- ↑ "1969: MPs vote to abolish hanging". BBC News. 16 December 1969. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
- ↑ Croker, Charlie (2010). 8 Out of 10 Brits: Intriguing and Useless Statistics about the World's 79th Largest Nation. Random House. p. 175. ISBN 978-0099532866.
- 1 2 "Legal Position of Death Penalty in Bermuda". BerNews. 11 April 2010. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
- ↑ Campbell, James M., ed. (31 May 2026). Reluctant Abolitionists: Britain and the End of the Colonial Death Penalty. Cambridge University Press. pp. 209–248. doi:10.1017/9781009595209.006. ISBN 978-1-009-59517-9. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
- ↑ "Bermuda - Capital Punishment Referendum Act 1989". ConstitutionNet. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
- 1 2 "Bermuda retains death penalty". Cayman Compass. 31 August 1990. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
- ↑ Egan, Paul (1 June 1995). "PLP to compare death penalty vote with Independence referendum". Royal Gazette. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
- ↑ "The Caribbean Territories (Abolition of Death Penalty for Murder) Order 1991". Legislation.gov. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
- ↑ Hainey, Raymond (10 December 1997). "'No' to death penalty, say most of Bermuda's MPs". Royal Gazette. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
- ↑ "New legislation: Bermuda shows the way forward". Amnesty International UK. 11 January 2000. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
- ↑ "ABOLITION OF CAPITAL AND CORPORAL PUNISHMENT ACT 1999". Bermuda Laws. Retrieved 31 May 2026.