| Reyes v R | |
| Court: | Judicial Committee of the Privy Council |
| Date Decided: | 11 March 2002 |
| Full Name: | Patrick Reyes, Appellant v The Queen, Respondent |
| Citations: | [2002] UKPC 11, [2002] 2 AC 235, [2002] 2 WLR 1034 |
| Prior Actions: | Court of Appeal of Belize |
| Opinions: | Lord Bingham of Cornhill |
| Keywords: | Capital punishment; inhuman or degrading punishment |
Reyes v R is a 2002 Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) case in which it was held that it was unconstitutional in Belize for capital punishment to be the mandatory sentence for murder. The JCPC held that because the Constitution of Belize prohibits "inhuman or degrading punishment", following a murder conviction, a trial judge must have discretion to impose a lesser penalty than death by hanging; capital punishment may be applied only in those cases that contain aggravating factors as compared to other murder cases.
The case was decided with R v Hughes and Fox v R, cases on the same issue on appeal from Saint Lucia and Saint Kitts and Nevis.