Howard Stevens KC and Rowan Pennington-Benton Instructed by Charles Russell Speechlys LLP (London) for the Respondent
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
Judgment details
Judgment date
22 April 2025
Neutral citation
[2025] UKPC 21
Judgment links
Appeal
Justices
Hearing dates
Start date – 10 December 2024
End date – 10 December 2024
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