Reply:
- 58
Mr President,
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
The results of reviews by the Board of Review, Long Term Prison Sentences (the Board) are conveyed to the prisoners concerned by the Prison Superintendent or his representative, and to the prisoners' families upon request. The Board does not disclose any information on its decision-making process, i.e. deciding whether to recommend to the Governor the exercise of the prerogative of mercy.
Prisoners who are dissatisfied with the outcome of their reviews may make representations to the Governor.
The existing arrangement does not deprive prisoners serving sentences under Her Majesty's pleasure their right of receiving regular reviews of their sentences by the Board. The Board reviews each of these cases every year until the prisoner has reached the age of 21, and thereafter every two years. If the prisoner's sentence is changed to a determinate one on the recommendation of the Board, he will be eligible for consideration for release under supervision in accordance with the provisions of the Prisoners (Release Under Supervision) Ordinance or the Post-Release Supervision of Prisoners Ordinance. At present, we are preparing legislation to establish a statutory Board of Review, Long Term Prison Sentences, and one of the proposals under consideration is to allow an appropriate tariff period to be determined in each of these prisoners' cases, and to enable the new Board to consider their suitability for release after the prisoners have served their tariff periods.
Sentences under Her Majesty's pleasure are not subject to a minimum length because they are indeterminate sentences. The actual length of sentence served will depend on, among other things, the length of the determinate sentence if recommended by the Board and granted by the Governor. The Board considers each case on its merits.
End