More time behind bars for offenders

A prisoner makes use of the library at Northward Prison

Friday,  October 28, 2005

Convicted criminals will now be forced to serve more than half their sentences before they become entitled to apply for parole.

An amendment to the Prison Law has been tabled in the Legislative Assembly by the Chief Secretary, the Hon. George McCarthy.

The Prisons Amendment Bill requires that convicted drug dealers, thieves, rapists, kidnappers, arsonists, persons in unlawful possession of firearms and those who conspire to commit murder are among those people who must spend at least five-ninths of their sentence before they could be considered for parole.

The bill, which was passed by the House on 13 October, sets out a total of 59 offences for which convicts must remain imprisoned for this minimum time before any early release is contemplated. These range from violent crime to others that may pose a threat to public safety such as rioting. 

Mr. McCarthy explained that the law had originally required prisoners to serve one-half of their sentences, but it was changed in 1992 to stipulate that convicts need to serve a third of their prison time handed down by the court before early release can be considered.

“Not only is the threshold of one-third unacceptably low but unfortunately the law has been interpreted for some time as giving a convicted person a right to parole,” the Chief Secretary told parliament. 

The Chief Secretary said that among the major concerns of Government that prompted introduction of the amendment were the increase in crime and the high number of offenders who revert to their criminal ways when released from prison.

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