XN000022-1997-03-06 — Page 24

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Long-term Prison Sentences Review Bill

The Governor in Council has endorsed a Bill to further enhance the transparency, efficiency and fairness of the prison sentence review and remission system, a Government spokesman said today (Thursday).

At present, long-term prison sentences, including life sentences and detention at Her Majesty's pleasure, are reviewed, on a regular basis, by the advisory Board of Review, Long Term Prison Sentences.

The spokesman said that the Government proposed to introduce legislation to govern the procedures for the review of these sentences.

"The legislation will establish the existing Board as a statutory body and will give it additional tools to help it in discharging its functions, including the making of conditional release and post-release supervision orders," he said.

Under the proposals, the new Board, called the Long-term Prison Sentences Review Board, will have eight to 11 members, two of whom must be serving or former judges of the Supreme Court. The two judicial members will serve as President and Deputy President of the Board.

"The Board will be empowered to prescribe post-release supervision for prisoners whose indeterminate sentences have been changed to determinate sentences by the Governor on the Board's advice," the spokesman said.

"Post-release supervision for other prisoners serving determinate sentences will remain in the purview of the Post-Release Supervision Board."

A Conditional Release Under Supervision Scheme is also proposed. Under this scheme, the new Board may order certain prisoners to be released conditionally with supervision, whose indeterminate sentences may be changed to determinate sentences upon successful completion of the scheme.

said,

"This scheme will provide an additional tool to the new Board," the spokesman

Changes are also proposed to the present system for reviewing cases involving discretionary life sentences and detention at Her Majesty's pleasure.