Minister of National Security, the Hon. Wayne Munroe traveled to Grand Bahama this week where a town hall meeting was held on the proposed legislation introducing a new parole regime.
Munroe spoke with ZNS News on the sidelines of the meeting. He said, “we need to stop destroying lives with short sentences where persons aren’t attempted to be rehabilitated. Ninety eight percent of the people in the prison will come out. The most compelling parts for us to do this as quickly as possible relates to parole because if somebody is now released having gotten a sentence remitted, so if you’re sentenced to 40 years, say for murder, you’re released after 27. if you do something just you come out of prison you never have to account for the thirteen or the third years you had remitted, parole reverses that.”
Munroe further explained, “when you come out of prison after ten, fifteen years, if you’ve not been on the work scheme working, you come out broke, right, with a criminal record, difficult to get a job. And so what do we expect to be the consequences when that is what the system now delivers.”
The Minister says consultation is still pending with the Bahamas Christian Council, the Bahamas Bar Association, the Court of Appeal and a webinar is planned.
