The facts of the case refer to the mandatory death penalty applied to Tyrone Dacosta Cadogan after being found guilty of the crime of homicide.

The IA Court applied standards on the incompatibility of the mandatory imposition of the death sentence with the right to life and the arbitrary violation of life. By analyzing if the mere existence of a psychiatric evaluation were sufficient to guarantee the right to due process, the Court established as a criterion increased rigorousness in the observation of the judicial guarantees in those cases which could culminate in the application of the death sentence.

Additionally, the Court analyzed the scope of the positive state obligation to adopt legislative measures to guarantee the exercise of rights.