From left, Blackwood, Gordon, and Armstrong
EDWARD BELL almost had company. The man, who says he is of Jamaican descent, has been on death row in the Virginia State Penitentiary since May 2001.
Although there are 42 Jamaicans in the Virginia State prison system, Bell is the only one on death row. Another Jamaican, murder convict Lee Boyd Malvo, narrowly escaped joining him.
Bell was found guilty of murdering Virginia police officer, Ricky Timbrook in 1999, for which he has been sentenced to die. But he is not alone. There are at least four other Jamaicans awaiting a similar fate in United States prisons, one in Pennsylvania and three in Florida.
Albert E. Reid, 55, has been on death row in the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections since 1998 after being convicted of the 1996 double murder of his estranged wife and child.
In Florida, Lancelot Uriley Armstrong has been on death row since 1991. The 41 year old was charged on three counts the murder of a police officer, the attempted murder of another police officer and armed robbery.
CHARGED
Lynford Rexbirt Black-wood, 46, was charged with the 1995 murder of his ex-girlfriend, and has been on death row since 1997. Robert Roy Gordon is also in the Florida State prison system having been found guilty of murdering a surgeon in 1995.
Information on the Florida Department of Corrections Web site state that inmates are executed via electric chair or lethal injection. There were three executions in 2003. In Pennsylvania, the method of execution is lethal injection with the last execution occurring in 1990.
The state of Georgia does not have any Jamaicans on death row, however, there are 13 who are serving life sentences.
Mark Warren, international anti-death penalty activist, who has been monitoring the situation of Jamaicans and other foreign nationals on death row in the U.S., argues that the Jamaicans in prison should be better supported.
"What most often determines who lives and who dies among death row prisoners is the quality of the defence lawyer, not the merits of the case. And, as the old saying goes, 'those without the capital get the punishment'," said Mr. Warren. "Whether these Jamaican citizens are executed or not will depend entirely on the resources that are expended to defend them on appeal."
All the Jamaicans in this story have made appeals to, but have been denied by, the United States Supreme Court.
In a previous report on this issue, officials at the Jamaican Embassy in Washington explained that it was difficult to offer much support to incarcerated Jamaicans.
A Sunday Gleaner 2001 report quotes Assistant Commissioner of Police Errol Strong, chief security attaché to the Washington Embassy, as saying they could only offer limited help."When contacted we advise them of their rights. Most write seeking legal representation, but we do not offer that kind of assistance. We notify relatives if we can and when possible we visit inmates. But it is difficult for us. We can only go to prisons within a 200-mile radius. We don't have the resources to fly all over the (United) States or keep in touch with all of them constantly," he said then.
Oniel Hamilton, information attaché at the Embassy, said last week that the situation remains the same in terms of resource constraints. HUMANE TREATMENT "We do place high priority on humane treatment of all our nationals and do whatever we can to ensure that their rights are being observed," Mr. Hamilton said.
However, Mr. Warren, also a researcher and lecturer on human rights breaches in the U.S., gives Jamaica low grades for consular services to incarcerated nationals.
"A well-developed consular assistance programme is one measurement of any nation's maturity and sovereignty. Unfortunately, Jamaica is failing that test," said Mr. Warren."The Jamaican Embassy should be given the resources to intervene immediately whenever a Jamaican national is facing a capital charge anywhere in the United States. As Mexico has demonstrated, effective consular assistance is not a question of national affluence, it is a matter of national priority."
He also suggested that Lee Boyd Malvo was spared the death penalty because of shifts in public opinion."The jury's decision in the Malvo case illustrates the dramatic change in public attitudes towards the death penalty in the United States in recent years. Even for the most serious of crimes, a majority of Americans now believe that the death penalty must not be inflicted on juvenile offenders," Mr. Warren said.
Patrick Hylton, former criminal lawyer and Jamaican residing in Washington, adds that Malvo was well-represented and got a fair trial.
"Malvo received excellent representation. I followed that case thoroughly and have no questions whatsoever about the quality of the representation he received."
