By Teni Housty
The word erosion tends to describe a process of wearing away. For some the word has been used to describe the approach of some Caribbean judiciaries to the death penalty. In this context, erosion is used to describe the legal grounds upon which the death penalty has been ruled unconstitutional throughout the Commonwealth by the judiciary unaided by legislative reform. In the Caribbean the forces of erosion have rested primarily on the ground of delay, and on a resistance to the mandatory nature of the death sentence, revealing an increasing regard for the importance of the inherent dignity which we possess as human beings.
These thoughts are not aimed at any particular branch of the administration of justice, but the process of erosion of the death penalty in Guyana raises fundamental questions regarding who is the leader and who is the follower, and begs the further question – will the judiciary continue to be the follower?
There is a certain uniqueness which we, as Guyanese, possess that distinguishes us from our Caribbean neighbours. There is a Guyanese way of doing things. The Guyanese way regarding the
