Barbados Nation Online, 2 August 1996

Governor against caning of criminals

ROAD TOWN, British Virgin Islands -- The governor has urged public debate on caning of criminals, hoping to nudge the elected government to outlaw the practice.

In the past year, several caning sentences have been handed down by the Magistrate's Court and carried out with the traditional switch from a tamarind tree, Gov. David MacKilgin said.

"The BVI is now the only British territory anywhere in the world where judicial corporal punishment is still in use," he said. (AP)