Rights denied on Death Row?

Klao Bell, Staff Reporter

SOME Jamaicans on Death Row in the United States believe they are not being allowed rights granted under international treaties, a claim not denied by the Jamaican Embassy in Washington.

While the condemned prisoners claim they have been denied rights under the Vienna Convention, which allow them to seek assistance from Jamaican representatives in the U.S., the embassy claims U.S. authorities often fail to update them of Jamaicans who have been detained.

"That has been a running problem with the U.S. Government where foreign consuls are not briefed," Oneil Hamilton, press officer at the Washington mission told The Sunday Gleaner two weeks ago. "It is up to the convicted, the lawyer or the family of the victims to inform us, but we are fully engaged once we are briefed."

International observers too are concerned. Mark Warren, a volunteer U.S. co-ordinator for Amnesty International's Canadian section, said there are many cases when "this glaring violation of a treaty-based right" occur.

The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations grants a foreign national, who has been arrested, imprisoned or taken into custody, the right to contact his/her consulate and requires the arresting Government authorities to inform the individuals of this right without delay. The U.S. has been a signatory since 1969.

But, The Sunday Gleaner understands, the U.S. has not always observed the treaty, even ignoring a ruling made by the International Court of Justice to repeal a death sentence issued to two German nationals, who were eventually executed in 1999.

The Jamaican Embassy in Washington acknowledged that there were "a number" of Jamaican prisoners on Death Row, but that it did not have current information.

"We occasionally ask for an update on Jamaican nationals from the Bureau of Prisons, but the information is not up-to-date," Mr. Hamilton said.

The Sunday Gleaner was able to identify at least six Jamaicans on Death Row in the American states of Florida and Pennsylvania. All were convicted of first degree murder. Debbie Buchanan, press officer at the Florida Department of Corrections, confirmed that there are five Jamaican nationals on Death Row: 38-year-old Lancelot Uriley Armstrong; 38-year-old Robert Roy Gordon; 44-year-old Lynford Rexbirt Blackwood; 25-year-old Sean Hector Smith; and 36-year-old Paul Augustus Howell.

Armstrong, through his Web site, claims that he was "denied his consular rights".

Susan McNaughton, of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Press Office, confirmed that another Jamaican, 52-year-old Albert Reid, is on death row at the Greene Correctional Institution in that state.

No execution date has been set for any of the six men as the death warrants are yet to be signed by the governors of the two states.

However, the level of "engagement" between Jamaica and the U.S. has led to only a couple formal protests on behalf of Jamaicans in the last three years. Emma Lewis, public affairs associate at the U.S. Embassy in Kingston, said the embassy was "aware of only two cases...in July 1999 (and) in March 2000" where Jamaican authorities protested the denial of the rights of its nationals.

She said that in one incident "a Jamaican, who was arrested at the Miami International Airport said he asked to speak to a consular representative and was refused." The U.S. apologised for the incident.

Still, the ability of the Jamaican Embassy to assist inmates may be limited. Even when told of cases, it sometimes can do less than is asked.

"When contacted we advise them of their rights, but most write seeking legal representation, but we do not offer that kind of assistance," explained Assistant Commissioner Errol Strong, chief security attaché to the Washington Embassy.

"...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."

But local observers believe more must be done.

"It is a very important human rights concern and Jamaica should have someone dedicated full time to this," said Dr. Stephen Vasciannie, a lecturer in international relations at the University of the West Indies, "bearing in mind the cultural and racial differences between those detained and those in charge of certain prisons."

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