Visit UKSCJCPC/2021/0117
•
CRIME
Ricardo Farrington (Appellant) v The King (Respondent) (Bahamas)
Case summary
Case ID
JCPC/2021/0117
Jurisdiction
Bahamas
Parties
Appellant(s)
Ricardo Farrington
Respondent(s)
The King
Issue
Should the Appellant be re-sentenced for murder in light of the Privy Council's decision in Bowe and another v The Queen [2006] UKPC 10?
Facts
The Appellant was convicted of murder in November 1992, which at the time was understood as carrying a mandatory death sentence. In 1996, however, the Appellant's sentence was commuted by the Privy Council to one of life imprisonment on the ground that to carry out the death penalty after a period of delay would amount to inhuman punishment. In 2006, the Privy Council in the case of Bowe and another v The Queen ("Bowe") considered that section 312 of the Bahamian Penal Code should be construed as imposing a discretionary and not a mandatory sentence of death. Following Bowe, the Appellant has attempted unsuccessfully to apply to be re-sentenced so as to obtain a determinate tariff under his life imprisonment sentence. The Bahamian courts have ruled that they are unable to do so, however, because the sentence of life imprisonment was imposed by the Privy Council. The Appellant now appeals to the Privy Council.
Date of issue
15 December 2021
Appeal
Justices
Hearing dates
Start date
10 December 2024
End date
10 December 2024
Watch hearings
10 December 2024 - Morning session
10 December 2024 - Afternoon session
All videos on this page are recorded and transmitted in line with the Court's terms of use. These can be found here.. Please Note: Every effort is being made to provide a satisfactory streaming service of the Supreme Court judgments and hearings. However, these services may be subject to technical issues or delay, in which case we will attempt to resolve them as soon as possible.
Change log
Last updated 10 December 2024