This report proposes questions the Committee should ask the Government of Barbados in its List of Issues Prior to Reporting, particularly with respect to the death penalty, death row conditions, and due process protections in capital cases.

In 2019, Barbados removed the mandatory death penalty from its Constitution. While Barbados has maintained a de facto moratorium on executions since 1984, formal abolition of the death penalty would prevent any possibility of the resumption of executions.

In Barbados, the death penalty remains available for murder, in addition to crimes that do not rise to the level of “most serious” because they do not require the accused to have the intent to kill, such as espionage and military crimes.