Sentence of death not to be passed on pregnant woman

(1) Where a female convicted of a crime punishable with death is found in accordance with this section to be pregnant, the sentence to be passed on her shall be a sentence of imprisonment for life with hard labour instead of sentence of death. (2) Where a female convicted of a crime punishable with death alleges that she is pregnant, or where the court before whom a female is so convicted thinks fit so to order, the question whether or not the female is pregnant shall, before sentence is passed on her, be determined by a jury. (3) Subject to this sub-section, the said jury shall be the trial jury, that is to say, the jury to whom she was given in charge to be tried for the crime, and the members of the jury need not be re-sworn, Provided that– (a) if any member of the trial jury, either before or after the conviction, dies or is discharged by the court as being through illness incapable of continuing to act or for any other cause, the inquiry as to whether or not the female is pregnant shall proceed without him; and 93 (b) where there is no trial jury, or where a jury has disagreed as to whether the female is or is not pregnant, or has been discharged by the court without giving a verdict on that question, the jury shall be constituted as if to try whether or not she was fit to plead, and shall be sworn in such manner as the court may direct. (4) The question whether the female is pregnant or not shall be determined by the jury on such evidence as may be laid before it either on the part of the female or on the part of the Crown, and the jury shall find that the female is not pregnant unless it is proved affirmatively to their satisfaction that she is pregnant. (5) The rights conferred by this section on a female convicted of a crime punishable with death shall be in substitution for the right of such a female to allege in stay of execution that she is quick with child. Division 1 Punishment General, Execution of Death Sentence, and