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Granger set to pardon more prisoners
0PoliticsDecember 19, 2015 A+A-EMAILPRINT
Granger set to pardon more prisoners
President David Granger has promised to pardon prisoners who commit non-violent crimes twice per year, for the Country’s Independence in May and at Christmas time in December.
Speaking during his weekly Television programme “The Public Interest,†the Guyanese leader has announced that he will be pardoning some eleven women that have been incarcerated for non-violent crimes.
In addition, he is pushing for softer penalty for young people who find themselves in the hands of the law. “I don’t see why a 19 year old should be sentenced to fourteen months in prison for stealing a cell phone. “I don’t believe somebody should be damned forever for stealing a cell phone. There is a trail that stays with that person when he goes to apply for a job….I do believe in forgiveness I do believe that some young people might have made a mistake out of greed, out of poor upbringing or some other reason, but I don’t think it is something that should jeopardize him or her for the rest of his life,†the President reasoned.
He said he has engaged someone who is mounting a rehabilitation programme so that once young people are released from prison they will be able to attend the courses and be fully reintegrated into society.
The President is of the firm belief that persons who break the law can be given a second chance. “I do feel that if a person remains in jail too long, he or she will become habitual or repetitive offender, whereas if he is given a chance he can make a turnaround in his life and follow a useful career,†said Granger.
With regard to the reform programmes at the prisons, the Head of State said they have been yielding success, as he pointed out that many inmates perform well at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC).
On the issue of pardoned prisoners finding themselves back in the prison system, Granger said “they would make themselves ineligible in my eyes for release again, I’m not a perpetual releaser. If they are given the opportunity and they waste that opportunity then they serve the time.â€
In May of this year, shortly after Granger was sworn in as President he announced that he will be pardoning some sixty prisoners who were languishing in jail for petty crimes. Only forty of them were released in June. This, he said was going to be an annual feature that will occur in time for Guyana’s Independence observance. However, that has changed and will take place twice per year.
President Granger was hopeful that those persons would return to society to make meaningful contributions.
Those that were released in June have since been accepted into the USAID’s Skills and Knowledge for Youth Employment (SKYE) Project.
A few months ago it was alleged that one of the persons who had been pardoned by President Granger raped an elderly woman in Berbice.
