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President Cyril Ramaphosa has authorized parole consideration for selective low-risk criminals in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic. Turkey, Italy, Cameroon and France are among the countries that have also done so.
Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola drew up the President’s announcement about conditional probation in a middle briefing on Friday in Pretoria. Here are five key points from the briefing:
- Only offenders who meet the low-risk requirements will be considered who will reach their minimum sentence in the next five years.
- About 19,000 prisoners will qualify for these considerations.
- This process will reduce overcrowding in prisons by 12.15%.
- Inmates will be required to provide verification of their home address before they are released on parole.
- If parolees exhibit behavior that violates the law, their parole will be revoked and they will be re-incarcerated.
Minister Ronald Lamola stressed that this probation will be conditional and that the process will allow for better ventilation in prisons and space to prepare quarantine sites for prisoners who are possibly infected with the coronavirus.
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