Opposition Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis yesterday called on the government to use the bill the opposition drafted that would remove the impediments to carrying out the death penalty.
Minnis attempted to table the bill in the House of Assembly yesterday.
However, Speaker of the House Dr. Kendal Major did not allow it.
Major told Minnis he needed to give prior notice before he could table the bill.
During a press conference following the suspension of the House, Minnis said he thinks the government is attempting to block the opposition's bill.
Leader of Government Business in the House of Assembly Dr. Bernard Nottage moved for the House to be adjourned about 15 minutes after proceedings started. He said the government had pressing matters to deal with.
When asked about Minnis' claims, Nottage said the government has no problem with the opposition tabling the bill.
"Dr. Minnis either does not understand the rules or doesn't wish to understand the rules, in which case what he was doing was just a stunt," Nottage told reporters.
"Essentially, the rules allow for a member to give notice of a bill which he intends to table at the next time we have an opportunity to table bills. He did not do that."
Minnis questioned the reason behind the government's "sudden" decision to call for the suspension.
When asked about that, Nottage said he could not reveal the reasons behind the early suspension.
He said the government would release a statement in the coming days regarding its discussions.
"We are very disappointed that government suspended the House today," Minnis said.
"What matter is so important for the government to suspend the House other than crime and jobs? Those are the only things that could be more important. We will look forward to them making a statement tomorrow."
Minnis said people want answers to crime and they want the death penalty to be carried out.
"Many people are being murdered and the Bahamian public are asking for their just due," he said.
Minnis, who first mentioned the opposition's bill in a new year's address earlier this month, said the bill would require changes to the constitution and would also call for a referendum.
Minnis said the bill would address several weaknesses in the laws that have caused the Privy Council to overturn capital sentences for convicted murderers.
He said it would mandate that an appeal against the death penalty can only be made to The Bahamas' Court of Appeal and nowhere else, and if a delay between the conviction of the murderer and the proposed date of hanging occurs then the five-year limit imposed by the Privy Council would not apply.
Minnis said the bill would also mandate that the governor general prescribe time limits for the lodging and conclusion of all appeals against conviction, or constitutional appeals, and if the same are not concluded within such time limits, the Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy would be able to advise that the law should be brought into execution.
Minnis intends to table the bill at the next sitting of the House on January 29.
In March 2006, the Privy Council ruled that the mandatory death sentence in The Bahamas was unconstitutional.
Following that ruling, several men who were sentenced to death were resentenced to life in prison.
"At the very least there should be the certainty of sure punishment, and punishment which is appropriate to the crimes committed," Minnis said.
The last hanging in The Bahamas was carried out on January 6, 2000 when David Mitchell was executed for murdering a German couple.
There are three men in the country who are under the sentence of death: Kofhe Goodman, Anthony Clarke Jr. and Mario Flowers.

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