Pardoned criminals list awaiting approval

Some two months after Guyana observed its 50th Independence Anniversary the President is yet to approve the final list of prisoners to be pardoned, an initiative of President David Granger to give “petty” offenders a second chance.
Last year, the Head of State pardoned some 50-odd “petty” criminals, in their late teens to mid-20s, and committed to do the same again this year as part of the Independence Anniversary; however, these persons are yet to be released.
Guyana Times understands that the President is yet to approve the final list of names vetted and screened by the Guyana Prison Services (GPS) and the Ministry of Public Security.
A senior official from GPS had previously told this newspaper that the list was prepared and sent to the Ministry. However when contacted on Saturday, Director of Prisons Carl Graham related that they had not received the approved list as yet.
Meanwhile, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan when asked for an update directed this newspaper to the Ministry of the Presidency: “That’s an issue the Office of the President deals with… presidential pardons are from the President’s Office, you should redirect your questions there,”
This newspaper also contacted Minister of State Joseph Harmon who said that he is “not aware that the President has approved” the list of prisoners to be pardoned this year.
The criteria used to select the beneficiaries include prisoners who are facing short sentences; those who are incarcerated for petty, non-violent offences; and those between the ages of 18 and 24.
This pardon gesture applies to both female and male inmates.
While the President initially announced last year that 60 prisoners would be pardoned, only 40 were released in June 2015. The missing 20 were presumably found unsuitable for various reasons and remain incarcerated.
Additionally, in December Granger pardoned another 20 female prisoners who are mothers so that they can return home to spend the holidays with their children. However again, only 11 of them were released.
This decision of pardoning criminals had caused great uneasiness among Guyanese, especially business owners. Persons were also calling for the identities of these convicts to be made public, however it was explained that this would hinder the reintegration of these young people into society. But this position changed back in May when Kelvin Bates, 19, among the first batch of pardoned prisoners, was charged for a spate of robberies on Corentyne, Berbice. Minister Ramjattan had stated that he will consider releasing the names of the new set of prisoners to be released this year.
“Of course if asked, we will release the names of all those who will be pardoned. It is an obligation in the name transparency that the Minister release all the names of those who are on parole and pardoned,” he declared.
Bates appeared in Court on Thursday facing several charges ranging from robbery under arms, larceny from persons to possession of illegal firearms and ammunition that occurred earlier this month.
According to court documents, he was on bail for another armed robbery when he committed these offences.
This incident caused concerns to mount again on the initiative adopted by the Head of State. However, President Granger during The Public Interest television programme admitted to a Guyana Times reporter that Government cannot totally prevent a pardoned individual from relapsing into criminal activities, but he maintained that he was not reckless in releasing those 40 prisoners, among whom the 19-year-old was.
“It wasn’t reckless. I’m not a reckless person… I am advised that it’s not a reckless plan, there are criteria concerning their age and the possibilities of that person rejoining society and there is a scheme they can do some form of rehabilitative training or education but in the final analysis, it is impossible for the State to guarantee there will be no relapse into that criminal behaviour,” Granger asserted.
The President further pointed out that the initiative cannot be judge based on one individual, highlighting the success of the other 39. He went on to say that criteria used to select the pardoned beneficiaries are strict, hence only 11 of the 20 females were released in December and only 40 of 60 in May last year.
This he explained supports the fact that tough rules are applied when selecting the pardon beneficiaries.
Nevertheless the Head of State said that his focus will continue to be on mothers and young persons who are not involved in violent crimes and cocaine trafficking: “So anybody involved in manslaughter or murder is not going to receive a pardon from the President Granger… One of the things I said is that (young) people should be in school, in colleges and not in jail.” (Vahnu Manickchand)