Sierra Leone Prison Authorities deny bias in selection of inmates for pardon

The Sierra Leone Correctional Services has denied that any bias was involved in the selection of prisoners released through a presidential pardon.
An official of the prison services said Monday that the management of the department has no say in terms of which prisoner benefits from the clemency accorded by the President of the Republic during major national festivities.

The latest such gesture under the scheme was announced in celebration of the New Year. There have been speculations that some of the nearly 200 prisoners who made it to the list for release were favored for some reason. There were also allegations that prison officers received money to identify some of the prisoners.

But Assistant Superintendent Mohamed Opito Jimmy, Public Relations Officer of the Sierra Leone Correctional Services, denied all these, saying the selection process is such that no prison officer has any say over who should benefit.

He explained that the ‘Prerogative of Mercy Committee’ headed by the country`s vice president does the selection and vetting before sending the final list to the President for his signature.

Jimmy said factors such as time served, level of crime, behavior of convicts, as well as their health condition were key in the final decision on who is selected.

“There is no way that there can be anything like favoritism in the process,” he declared.