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| Uganda death penalty ban rejected | |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Uganda's Supreme Court has ruled that the death penalty is constitutional, overturning a ruling by a lower court. | Uganda's Supreme Court has ruled that the death penalty is constitutional, overturning a ruling by a lower court. |
| In 2005, 400 death row inmates won a case in the Constitutional Court seeking to abolish the death penalty. | In 2005, 400 death row inmates won a case in the Constitutional Court seeking to abolish the death penalty. |
| But judges agreed with the lower court that it was unreasonable to keep people on death row for more than three years. | But judges agreed with the lower court that it was unreasonable to keep people on death row for more than three years. |
| It means most of the death row prisoners who brought the original case will have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment. | It means most of the death row prisoners who brought the original case will have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment. |
| Although the death penalty has not been used since 1999, the court said it acted as a deterrent to murder. | Although the death penalty has not been used since 1999, the court said it acted as a deterrent to murder. |
| Hanging as a method of execution as it is carried out in Uganda is a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment Justice Egonda-Ntende | |
| However, the judges also ruled that a mandatory death sentence â a legal term meaning that the penalty for murder is automatically death - was unconstitutional. | |
| And they asked parliament to consider another means of execution other than hanging. | |
| "I would agree with the respondents that hanging as a method of execution as it is carried out in Uganda is a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment," Justice Egonda-Ntende said. | "I would agree with the respondents that hanging as a method of execution as it is carried out in Uganda is a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment," Justice Egonda-Ntende said. |
| Weeping | Weeping |
| The BBC's Joshua Mmali in the capital, Kampala, says four prisoners were in court for the ruling. | The BBC's Joshua Mmali in the capital, Kampala, says four prisoners were in court for the ruling. |
| Susan Kigula, the woman who led the other prisoners in filing the original petition, wept painfully as the actual implications of the ruling dawned on her. | |
| Our reporter says whereas fellow petitioners on death row may escape the death penalty following the ruling, her plight is still unclear. | Our reporter says whereas fellow petitioners on death row may escape the death penalty following the ruling, her plight is still unclear. |
| Her death sentence was only confirmed by an appeal court about a year ago. | Her death sentence was only confirmed by an appeal court about a year ago. |
| It means she could still be hanged within the next two years, unless the president pardons her under the presidential prerogative of mercy. | It means she could still be hanged within the next two years, unless the president pardons her under the presidential prerogative of mercy. |
| The prisoners' appeal was supported by Ugandan human rights groups. | The prisoners' appeal was supported by Ugandan human rights groups. |
| The attorney general had sought to overturn the 2005 Constitutional Court ruling. | The attorney general had sought to overturn the 2005 Constitutional Court ruling. |