CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
CONFIDENTIAL
ESSENTIAL FACTS
1. Capital punishment is retained in seven British Dependent Territories (the year of the last execution in each Territory is
given in brackets):
2.
Anguilla (1924), Bermuda (1977), British Virgin Islands
(1972), Cayman Islands (1928), Hong Kong (1966),
Montserrat (1960), Turks and Caicos Islands (1946)
Successive British Governments have regarded the question of whether the death penalty should be prescribed for murder under the
law of the Dependent Territories as a matter for the local
governments and legislatures. The exercise of the Crown's
Prerogative of Mercy has been delegated to Governors, but this does
not preclude petitions to The Queen if the Governor decides that the law should take its course. In responding to such petitions it has been accepted policy in Territories other than Hong Kong for the Secretary of State (whose duty it is to advise Her Majesty on such petitions) not to interfere with the Governor's decision so long as
that would not result in a miscarriage of justice. This
long-standing policy (since 1947) is known as the Creech-Jones
doctrine.
3. In Hong Kong capital punishment is penalty for murder, last
execution was in 1966. In 1973, (at a time when Parliament was
considering capital punishment in Northern Ireland) Secretary of
State (Sir Alec Douglas-Home) intervened to prevent an execution in Hong Kong. This later led to a statement by the Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong in the Legislative Council in 1975 to the effect that
the Secretary of State could not recommend to The Queen to reject a plea for clemency from Hong Kong whilst feeling in the House of
CONFIDENTIAL
/Commons