An excellent initiative

TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor,

I want to compliment the architects of the Sentence Management Board which was launched recently by the Guyana Prison Service. Although this board should have been put in place long before now, it is still not too late for it to carry out its mandate in helping to improve the lives of prisoners after they are released from incarceration.

The makeup of the board is an indication of the seriousness of the authorities to really help in the reform process of prisoners. The board comprises members of the Guyana Prison Service, the Ministries of Home Affairs and Human Services and Social Security, the private sector and the Prison Visiting Committee.

I think this board has the ability to make the sort of recommendations that are necessary for the training of prisoners, so that at the end of their sentences they would be able to return to society as reformed persons who could make a genuine contribution to the development of the country.

According to Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee: “Prisons are more than just about depriving people of their freedom, it is about taking advantage of the opportunity while they are incarcerated to train, re-train, upgrade, rehabilitate, and to prepare them for reintegration into society, and the Sentence Management Board is the ideal body that is well positioned to fulfill that responsibility.”

I believe that the training in prison will enable inmates to reintegrate into society and make a meaningful contribution to the development of the nation as a whole. 

Cooperatively,

Dereck Osbourne

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