From Cayman Islands Deputy Governor’s Office

In November 2014 the Legislative Assembly passed the Conditional Release Law, which replaces the parole provisions of the Prison Law. The law and regulations will come into effect on 15 February, 2016. This law is a part of this Government’s continued response to the National Security Council’s Crime Reduction Strategy – May 2011 “Reduce Re-Offending.”

“The objectives of the Conditional Release Scheme are to rehabilitate a prisoner to function in society and live a useful life, to protect society from the criminal acts of repeat offenders and to reduce costs of incarceration,” said Acting Premier Hon. Moses Kirkconnell.

The reoffending rate in the Cayman Islands is far higher than the rest of the Caribbean and Europe and this initiative aims to reduce the level of reoffending. In addition, the prison population in the Cayman Islands is twice the international average on a per capita basis.

The Conditional Release Scheme replaces the earliest date of release scheme, which releases prisoners based on the passage of time (two thirds of the sentence) regardless of the risk to the community they pose, with a scheme that is totally based on risk assessment and rehabilitation.

The new law and regulations will not apply to those currently serving determinate sentences; however, it will apply to those that are currently serving life sentences.

Prisoners sentenced after the law comes into force will have to serve a longer sentence than previously before they are eligible for conditional release, it will now be 60% as opposed to 50% of their sentence and all prisoners released from prison will be on a licence until the end of their sentence.

A prisoner will only be released after he or she is deemed to be a lower risk to the community and engaged in the rehabilitation process.

Every prisoner released from prison that has a sentence of more than a year will be on a license and under supervision of the Department of Community Rehabilitation and monitored by the Police/911 if an electronic tag is part of the license conditions. The level of risk will determine licence conditions.

In relation to life sentenced prisoners, the Governor has already released persons serving life imprisonment on licence in accordance with the Prison Law but the law doesn’t specify how long they should serve before being released.

For new lifers the new law states that the court will specify the period of incarceration the prisoner shall serve before they are eligible to be considered for conditional release on licence. The period being such as the court considers appropriate to satisfy requirements of retribution, deterrence and rehabilitation. However, for murder, the period shall be thirty years before the prisoner is eligible unless there are extenuating circumstances, exceptional in nature, in which case the court may impose a lower period of incarceration; or aggravating circumstances, exceptional in nature, in which case the court may impose a longer period of incarceration.

If conditional release is granted to a prisoner sentenced to a term of imprisonment for life the licence will remain in force for life.

For existing lifers, as a transitional arrangement, within 24 months of the law coming into force the Grand Court will pronounce in open court a period of incarceration for existing life prisoner, as if it were sentencing an accused who has been convicted.

A new 9 member Board has been appointed by the Governor. The new Board will make decisions on the release of prisoners on licence, the conditions of a licence, including the variation and cancellation of conditions, the suspension of a licence and the revocation of a licence.

The new board has already been trained for its new responsibilities by overseas trainers that were funded by the Governor’s Office.

Local training has already taken place for the Police, Probation Officers, Prison Officers and Counselors.

THE NEW CONDITIONAL RELEASE SCHEME

FAQs

1. Do the law and regulations apply to those currently in prison?

No. Those prisoners with a determinate sentence that were sentenced prior to the 15^th February 2016 will not be covered by this law, but those that are currently serving life sentences will be covered.

1. What will happen to those prisoners now serving life sentences?

Within 24 months of the commencement of the law those life prisoners will have their cases reviewed by the Grand Court and a tariff set. In the case of murder the law recommends 30 years unless there are extenuating or aggravating circumstances.

1. Does the law apply to all prisoners?

No, only those who are sentenced to a year or more.

1. How long will a prisoner have to serve before they are eligible for conditional release?

The prisoner will have to serve at least 60% of their sentence.

1. Will all prisoners being released from prison be on a license?

Yes, and the license will be in place until the end of the sentence.

1. What determines whether the prisoner will be released

A prisoner will only be released after he or she is deemed to be a lower risk to the community and engaged in the rehabilitation process.

1. Is the Governor still making decisions on conditional release?

No. All decisions will be made by the Conditional Release Board.

1. What factors will the Board take into account before releasing a prisoner on license?

1. a) Whether it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public that a particular prisoner be imprisoned;

(b) The risk of the prisoner reoffending;

(c) Whether the rehabilitation of the prisoner can be safely carried out in the community; and

(d) Whether the prisoner is capable of complying with the conditions of a licence.