Kent Bowers (died 19 June 1985) was a

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

an man convicted of murder and executed by Belize. He is the most recent person to have been executed in

. On 4 July 1984, Bowers entered a restaurant in

Belize City Belize City is the largest city in Belize and was once the capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2010 census, Belize City has a population of 57,169 people in 16,162 households. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, wh ...

where Francis Codd and Dora Codd were hosting a private party for their twenty-fifth

wedding anniversary A wedding anniversary is the anniversary of the date a wedding took place. Couples may take the occasion to celebrate their relationship, either privately or with a larger party. Special celebrations and gifts are often given for particular an ...

. According to testimony heard when the case later went to trial, Bowers was asked to leave and their son, Robert Codd, escorted him to the door. A struggle ensued outside between Bowers and Codd, and Bowers

stabbed A stabbing is penetration or rough contact with a sharp or pointed object at close range. ''Stab'' connotes purposeful action, as by an assassin or murderer, but it is also possible to accidentally stab oneself or others. Stabbing differs fro ...

Codd several times. Codd died within minutes of the incident. Bowers was arrested and charged with

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

. He was convicted on 23 October 1984 and given the mandatory sentence of death by

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...

. Bowers appealed his conviction to the

Court of Appeal of Belize A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordanc ...

, but his arguments were rejected. Bowers's petition for clemency was rejected by the Governor General (section 52.1Belize Constitution) Dr Dame Minita Gordon . Bowers was hanged on 19 June 1985 in Her Majesty's prison on Goal Lane Belize City . No one has been executed by Belize since Bowers, but capital punishment remains as a possible legal punishment in Belize.

References

External links

''Bowers v. The Queen''
Court of Appeal of Belize, 1984, belizelaw.org, accessed 2008-08-14 1985 deaths 20th-century executions by Belize People executed by Belize by hanging Executed Belizean people People executed for murder Belizean people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by Belize Year of birth missing 1984 murders in North America {{Belize-bio-stub

See also

References

Further reading

External links