Granger stands by Presidential prison pardons

Oct 10, 2015 News

…says, “I will keep on doing it!”

 “Young people don’t have a right to be jailed; they have a right to be schooled. They have a right to be in college.”- President David Granger

President David Granger has indicated that he will continue with the Presidential prison pardons which resulted in some youths convicted for minor offences receiving “get out of jail free” cards on Independence Day.

President David Granger

And even though the Head of State has admitted that he is fully aware of the criticisms surrounding his decision, he will nonetheless move ahead as planned since he strongly believes that young people should be in school, rather than in jail.
Granger made the statement during an education rally held by the Minister of Education as a conclusion to its observance of Education Month. At the time, the President was addressing “Guyana’s future” – hundreds of gathered schoolchildren.
According to Granger, the nation faces many problems and too often youths find themselves turning to crime rather than education. Granger noted that many times these persons are small-time criminals who have made bad decisions. These youths, he added, do not deserve to waste away their lives behind bars.
“This is the opportunity for all of us to turn this situation around. We don’t want to see our young people in the New Opportunity Corps; we don’t want to see our young people in Camp Street [Prison]; we don’t want to see our young people in Mazaruni [Prison],” Granger said.
“I always say that too many of our children go to the Onderneeming Primary School; too many of our children go to Camp Street Secondary School and too many of them end up in the Mazaruni University.”
He said that rather than realising their potential, these youths spend their whole lives in confinement. He indicated that while some may believe that this is due justice, he thought otherwise.
“I say, “Go your way and sin no more”. Get out of jail: go to college, go to university instead…Some people are quarrelling because a few people who steal cell phones are allowed to get out of jail free…People are appalled at that, but I will do it again next year!” Granger firmly said.
“Young people don’t have a right to be jailed; they have a right to be schooled. They have a right to be in college. So, I will keep on doing it, and my critics will keep on complaining. But I want to see young people graduating from university, from secondary schools. Not going into Mazaruni and Camp Street.”
Earlier this year, President Granger had drawn both commendation and criticism for his decision to pardon convicted prisoners on May 26, Independence Day. His decision saw 60 nonviolent convicts, between the ages of 18 and 25, returning to their families.
President Granger had said that with the annual amnesty, consideration will not be given to persons who have been convicted for crimes of violence. He also expressed hope that the released youths will turn their lives around and make good use of their second chances.