Former AG, IRO mum on death penalty

FORMER UNC attorney general Kamla Persad-Bissessar and the Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO) declined comment on yesterday’s Privy Council ruling to keep the death penalty in Trinidad and Tobago. Persad-Bissessar said she had not seen the Privy Council’s judgment and needed to study it thoroughly before she could comment. IRO president, Rev Cyril Paul, also said he could not talk about the ruling until he conferred with other IRO heads before he could do so. However, former IRO president, Independent Senator Bro Noble Khan, said he believed the death penalty could serve as a strong deterrent to crime. He expressed concern, however, about how effective the death penalty might be in light of current problems in TT’s judicial process. Attempts to reach Persad-Bissessar’s immediate pre- decessor, Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, for comment were unsuccessful.