A last-minute bid by the Opposition United Bermuda Party to get Governor Thorold Masefield to delay signing the controversial bill to abolish the death penalty ended in farce yesterday.

The UBP was putting the finishing touches to a letter pleading with the Governor to take legal advice before approving the Act because it was riddled with errors when they discovered he had signed the bill earlier in the day.

The Royal Gazette broke the news to UBP Sen. Mark Pettingill, who was drafting the letter, shortly before 5 p.m.

The UBP intended to plead with the Governor not to sign the bill because Independent Senate president Alf Oughton had used his casting vote on Wednesday night to pass the bill even though he acknowledged it was flawed.

Opposition Leader Pamela Gordon said she was stunned that the Act, abolishing the death penalty and corporal punishment, had been rubber-stamped by the Governor less than 24 hours after it was passed by Senate in such controversial circumstances.

She said: "We are shocked and surprised that it has been signed so quickly, but perhaps we should not be so surprised given the circumstances.

"It was a United Kingdom government agenda, but we still intend to forward our concerns and objections to the Governor as a matter of record, but we are sure he must already be aware of them because of the media coverage.

"In my experience when I was Premier, we had bills to be signed but we never had them signed three hours into the next day, especially one which ended in this degree of controversy, not so much on the principle of the bill but the content.

"I am very surprised and somewhat disappointed, but I've learned with the new Government you can expect anything that's unusual.'' Sen. Pettingill had pointed out that because of sloppy draftsmanship, the new bill changed the sentence for a Police officer who turned a blind eye to a crime being committed from three years to life in prison.

Sen. Pettingill, who is a lawyer and in favour of abolition, said another aspect of the "badly thought out'' bill was that probation was now a sentencing option for someone convicted of murder.

He had urged Senate to send the bill back to the House of Assembly to be redrafted because it was so flawed that it could not be amended.

Sen. Pettingill said even the title of the bill was wrong in law because it referred to the abolition of capital punishment, which is not featured anywhere on the statute books.

Government Senate Leader Milton Scott acknowledged the concerns and gave an assurance that they would be passed to the Attorney General Dame Lois Browne Evans and the Law Reform Committee to be amended.

Death penalty scrapped Speaking about the Governor's decision yesterday, Sen. Pettingill said: "It's unbelievable. I am absolutely taken aback. It seems to me the reason why it was speeded over there was that they anticipated problems like this.

"I am sure the Governor was well aware of what transpired yesterday because it was on the news but he has decided to do that. I look forward to the promised amendments.'' Sen. Pettingill, who represents the Bermuda Police Association, said Police officers had approached him yesterday to express their outrage at Government's decision to pass the bill knowing that the effect, although it was unintentional, was to increase a three-year sentence for officers to life in prison.

He said: "They are outraged. That was an offence that was originally three years and Government clearly stated that they didn't intend to increase it, but that's the effect of the Act, and they were still willing to pass it.'' Two Independent Senators, Jeanette Cannonier and Walwyn Hughes, voted to send the Abolition of Capital and Corporal Punishment Act 1999 back to the House of Assembly because they were concerned that the bill was so badly flawed.

Sen. Oughton said he was concerned about the errors pointed out but used his casting vote, relying on a Government promise to amend the Act later, to push it through by six votes to five.

Ms Gordon said: "We are very disappointed with the president of the Senate.

"It's a black Bermuda now so there's concern that white people won't do anything they think might be detrimental to the operation of Government because they're not sure if it might be detrimental to themselves.

"Two of the three Independent Senators voted against it and it was only Alf Oughton who came out and said I agree that its flawed but I'm going to go with the spirit of it and hope Government corrects it.

"The upper house has a duty and a responsibility to ensure flawed legislation does not go through before it is corrected by Government.'' Development, Opportunity and Government Services Minister Terry Lister, who moved the bill in the House last Friday, refused to comment yesterday.

SENATE SEN