Caribbean nations retain death penalty as Dominican Republic toughens prison sentences

While Lebanon makes history by formally abolishing the death penalty, becoming the first Middle Eastern nation to do so, the Caribbean region presents a contrasting legal landscape. Several Caribbean countries maintain capital punishment in their statutes, though executions have been absent for years, creating a significant divergence in approaches to severe crimes.

Nations like Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago still have the death penalty on their books. Grenada also retains it but is considered abolitionist in practice. Despite these legal provisions, no Caribbean country carried out an execution in 2025, according to Amnesty International. The United States was the sole nation in the Americas to execute individuals that year.

Trinidad and Tobago stands out within the region, ending 2025 with 38 people on death row and being the only Caribbean nation to record new death sentences that year. Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines each had one person under a death sentence. Other states, including Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia, had no individuals on death row by the close of 2025.

The last execution in the Caribbean occurred in Saint Kitts and Nevis in 2008, highlighting a long period without the application of the ultimate penalty. This contrasts sharply with Lebanon's legislative move, which transitions the country from a de facto abolition to a legally enshrined one. Lebanon had not carried out an execution since 2004, but its courts could still impose the death penalty for certain offenses.

Meanwhile, the Dominican Republic, which constitutionally prohibits the death penalty, has chosen a different path. The country has significantly increased prison sentences through its new Penal Code, extending potential periods of incarceration to several decades. This reflects distinct state responses to serious offenses, with some Caribbean nations retaining the legal possibility of capital punishment, Lebanon opting for complete abolition, and the Dominican Republic opting for stricter penal sanctions.