TRINIDAD GALLOWS READY AS DRUG GANG'S TIME RUNS OUT

Last-Minute legal efforts to save the lives of nine convicted
murderers on Trinidad and Tobago's death row appear unlikely to
succeed. A series of hangings due to begin here tomorrow have divided
the small twin-island nation in the southern Caribbean.

Lawyers for the nine men - members of a vicious drug gang - were
reported yesterday to be preparing to contest the executions on
constitutional grounds, hoping to win a temporary stay of execution
while arguments are heard before Trinidad High Court.

But the gallows are being readied at the capital's Frederick Street
jail and graves are being dug at a prison cemetery. Relatives of the
killers are being allowed what could be their last visits. Amid
repeated rumours of planned jailbreaks, security has been tightened,
with soldiers guarding blocked streets near the jail.

The first three due to be executed on Friday include the gang leader,
Dole Chadee. Three more are scheduled to die on Saturday. The last
three are due to die on Monday.

But a last-minute reprieve would be no surprise to Trinidadians, many
of whom are tired of the tortuous legal see-saw over the death penalty.

Death warrants have been read to the nine three times since they were
sentenced in 1996 for their part in a brutal quadruple murder. But on
each occasion their executions were delayed by appeals to the courts,
including the Privy Council in London - the last court of appeal for
Commonwealth states.

London's position has sparked moves across the Caribbean to sever
legal ties to the Privy Council in favour of a regional court. The
resumption of hangings was made possible only after the Privy Council
rejected the appeals last week.

Public pressure for wider use of the death penalty has grown in recent
years with the escalating cocaine trade from South America to the
United States and Europe, which has left as by-products a heap of
bullet-ridden corpses, soaring crime, drug abuse and embittered
relatives of victims.