Parole logjam slows process for lifers
There is a massive backlog of parole considerations for prisoners with long sentences, reports GroundUp. Prisoners serving life sentences and those who have served out their minimum detention periods are facing lengthy delays.
A person sentenced to life imprisonment before 1 October 2004 must serve 12 years and four months before being considered for parole.
If they were sentenced after that date, they need to serve a minimum of 25 years. There is no prescribed period for a decision on the parole consideration, according to Sechaba Mphahlele, media liaison officer for the Department of Correctional Services.
The parole board sends the lifers’ files and its recommendations to the Minister of Justice & Correctional Services for consideration, he said.
The Minister makes the final decision.
‘It should be noted that the Minister considers each case on an individual basis,’ said Mphahlele.
This process has created a logjam on the Minister’s desk.
In its 2020/21 annual report, the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services said it was ‘experiencing an overload of complaints about parole, especially for lifers’.
According to the report, of the 17 188 people serving life sentences, 4 494 were eligible for parole consideration. Only 36 lifers were granted parole that year, indicating a ‘crisis’ in the process.
It would take the Minister 409 days to clear this backlog if he worked for seven hours a week on the lifer’s profiles, Justice Edwin Cameron noted.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
