Legal provision restricting the right to appeal in death penalty cases struck down as a denial of due process

15/06/17

Lovelace (Appellant) v The Queen (Respondent) (St Vincent and the Grenadines) [2017] UKPC 18

In a judgment delivered today, the Privy Council has found unconstitutional a law excluding death row prisoners in St Vincent and the Grenadines (St Vincent) from applying for an extension of time to have their case reviewed by a higher court. This decision is a significant legal development which will have relevance in other jurisdictions where rigid time restrictions are imposed on the appeals process in capital cases.

A copy of the Death Penalty Project's ('DPP') press release can be found here and a copy of the judgment is available here.