BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CMC):

Human-rights group Amnesty International has slammed Kittitian authorities for their decision to hang a convicted murder, the first execution in the twin-island federation for a decade.

The London-based organisation said the hanging of Charles Elroy Laplace on Friday for the 2006 murder of his wife was "a shameless human rights development for the country after 10 years of moratorium".

Escalating crime

The government has been an-xious to get a grip on an escalating crime situation that has seen more than 20 homicides for the year, and Prime Minister Denzil Douglas said he hoped the execution would serve as a deterrent to the criminally inclined.

Amnesty International, in a statement, said it understands concerns about the upsurge of crime and murders in St Kitts and Nevis, but added that it strongly believes that the use of the death penalty, as well as constituting cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, is not an effective method for preventing crime.

"Given the unlikelihood of ever being brought before the courts, it is quite implausible that before committing a crime a criminal would consider the risk of being hung and would refrain from wrongdoing. The death penalty also runs the risk of irrevocable error," Amnesty International said.

Protection of citizens

"Protection of citizens does not come from executing criminals but from preventing them from committing crimes," the group said, adding that it "believes that the true solution to the deteriorating crime situation lies with the strengthening of police capacities".

The grouping said that the proper functioning of the justice system was also crucial to ensure compensation to victims but noted that such compensation could not come from claiming the life of the wrongdoer.