Discussions underway to reward helpful prisoners

Inmates who chose to stay behind to repair a section of Her Majesty’s Prison that suffered damage due to the passage of Hurricane Irma, as well as, assisted with recovery efforts in communities could be rewarded for their philanthropy.

Governor Augustus Jaspert broke the news while being questioned by a reporter at a press conference yesterday.

He, however, did not say whether the reward could take the form of reduced sentences for some of the inmates.

“That’s a discussion that Minister Walwyn and the premier and I have.”

“The important point here is that we may be under a state of emergency, but we have our functioning government; we have the right processes. So, any prisoner, in normal days – he has done good behavior, support – recommendations go from the prison superintendent to the parole board, or separately to the Commission for Prerogative of Her Royal Majesty, which I oversee.”

He added: “The prison superintendent and I will be expecting to recommend people to those two panels, and then we will take decisions on the back of that based on the proper advice.”

Over 100 inmates escaped from Her Majesty’s Prison, Balsam Ghut when Hurricane Irma devastated the Island on September 6. The Governor has revealed that more than a hundred of them have been recaptured, including the most dangerous ones.