TNAG-0600-FCO40-748-Capital-punishment-in-Dependent-Territories-1977 — Page 17

ན་པ་ ༈ གན་

CONFIDENTI AL

4.

has been made by one of the condemned men and this application will be heard on 6 October. It is not thought likely to be successful. In the meantime, the

Acting Governor has imposed a Stay of Execution in both cases until a decision on the application has been given. The Governor is concerned that if the application is turned down he could not postpone fixing an execution date for both convicts without giving some reason. He] hopes that the Accused's Counsel, who is, incidentally, the Leader of the Opposition, will send a petition to The Queen before 6 October. However, he believes that, for political reasons, such a petition may not be forth- coming. A letter to The Queen from a local person in Bermuda has been received which could, if absolutely necessary, be regarded as a petition and so considered. If, however, he can be informed soon after 13 October, when DOP will be considering this Note, that Ministers are considering a change in the practice of the exercise of The Queen's residual Prerogative, the Governor could, without disclosing details, announce that no date can be fixed for an execution until such time as the Secretary of State has considered an approach to Her Majesty for clemency, or, alternatively, he could himself review the Acting Governor's decision and commute the sentence. sentences, if carried out, would undoubtedly attract a great amount of publicity, particularly since one of the Accused has been convicted of the murder of the then Governor, Sir Richard Sharples, in addition to the offence for which he was condemned to death.

Implications in the Dependent Territories

These

7. The Governors of the dependent territories concerned were asked in August to give a personal assessment of the current state of public opinion in their territories on the issue of capital punishment. In territories where violent crime is a particular problem such as Hong Kong and Belize, Governors predict local opposition to any moves to abolish capital punishment. This attitude is reflected in all the local legislatures who clearly do not share the views of the United Kingdom Parliament on this question.