KNOW YOUR LAWS: Murder (Criminal Code of Saint Lucia)

PRESS RELEASE – “Know Your Laws” is a production of the Press Office of the Royal St Lucia Police Force.

MURDER

(Criminal Code of Saint Lucia)

A person commits murder if he or she causes the death of another person—

(a)          intending to cause death; or

(b)          intending to cause grievous bodily injury.

CAPITAL MURDER

(1)          Subject to subsection (2), murder committed in any of the following circumstances is capital murder—

(a)          the murder of—

(i)            a member of the Police Force acting in the execution of his or her duties or a person assisting a member so acting,

(ii)           a correctional officer acting in the execution of his or her duties,

(iii)          a judicial officer acting in the execution of his or her duties,

(iv)         a member of the Police Force, correctional officer or judicial officer for any reason directly attributable to the nature of his or her occupation;

(b)          any person for any reason directly attributable to—

(i)            the status of that person as a witness or party in a pending or concluded civil cause or matter or in any criminal proceedings, or

(ii)           the service or past service of that person as a juror in any criminal trial;

(c)           the murder of a justice of the peace acting in execution of his or her judicial functions;

(d)          a murder committed by a person in the course or furtherance of—

(i)            robbery,

(ii)           burglary or housebreaking,

(iii)          arson,

(iv)         any sexual offence,

(v)          any hate crime,

(vi)         any drug trafficking offence or other drug related offence;

(e)          any murder committed pursuant to an arrangement whereby money or anything of value—

(i)            passes or is intended to pass from one person to another or to a third party at the request or direction of that other person, or

(ii)           is promised by one person to another or to a third person at the request or direction of that other person, as consideration for that other person causing or assisting in causing the death of any person or counseling or procuring any person to do any act causing or assisting in causing death of another person;

(f)           any murder committed by a person in the course or furtherance of an act of terrorism, that is to say an act involving the use of violence by that person which, by reason of its nature and extent, is calculated to create a state of fear in the public or any sector of the public.

A person convicted of capital murder may on conviction on indictment, be sentenced to death.

NON-CAPITAL MURDER

(1)          A murder committed in circumstances other than any of those circumstances referred to in section 86, is non- capital murder.

(2)          Subject to subsection (3), a person convicted on indictment of non-capital murder is liable to imprisonment for life.

(3)          A person who is convicted of a non-capital murder may be sentenced to death if—

(a)          he or she has previously been convicted of another murder committed on a different occasion;

1. b) he or she has been convicted of another murder committed on the same occasion as the one with which he or she is charged.

ATTEMPT TO MURDER

A person who attempts—

(a)          to commit capital murder is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for life;

(b)          to commit non-capital murder is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for 20 years.

We, the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force would like to encourage the citizenry to read and study the laws which governs our society. Never forget that knowledge is power.

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