Law & Courts

30 year tariffs to Cayman Islands life sentences

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  1. (1)   This Law may be cited as the Conditional Release Law, 2014.
  2. (1)   In this Law -
  3. (1)   This Law applies to all prisoners regardless of when they were convicted or sentenced, including prisoners who have no right of abode in the Islands or are liable to be deported.
  4. (1)   There is hereby established the Conditional Release Board.
  5. No action for damages or other proceedings shall lie against a member of the Board or the Secretary for anything done or omitted in good faith by the member while carrying out his functions or exercising his powers under this Law.
  6. (1)   The functions of the Board shall be to make decisions and orders in relation to -
  7. (1)   Prisoners shall be eligible for conditional release as follows -
  8. (1)   The Director of Prisons may, at least six months before a prisoner becomes eligible to be considered for conditional release, inform him in writing of that date and, if the prisoner wishes to be considered for release on licence, he is required to submit an application to the Director of Prisons at least four months before that date.
  9. In carrying out its functions under this Law, the Board shall consider the following factors -
  10. (1)   Where a case is referred under section 7(2), the Board shall consider the report of the Director of Prisons and the reports of all other relevant agencies and any other relevant evidence that the Board has been provided with.
  11. g)   a copy of all written representations made by the prisoner, and, if a previous application was made to the Board, written representations made previously by the prisoner;
  12. (1) The Director of the Department of Community Rehabilitation, or any person authorised by him -
  13. (1)   The Board may order the conditional release on licence of any prisoner, after the prisoner has served the period specified in section 7(1) and in doing so shall comply with sections 9 and 10.
  14. (1)   The Board may release a prisoner on licence subject to electronic monitoring for the whole or a part of the licence period to the extent considered necessary by the Board.
  15. (1) Notwithstanding any other Law to the contrary, when sentencing a prisoner to a term of imprisonment for life, the court shall specify the period of incarceration the prisoner shall serve before the prisoner is eligible to be considered for conditional release on licence, the period being such as the court considers appropriate to satisfy requirements of retribution, deterrence and rehabilitation, but for murder, the period shall be thirty years before the prisoner is eligible for conditional release unless there are -
  16. (1) If the Department of Community Rehabilitation has reasonable grounds to suspect that a prisoner released on licence has breached a condition of the licence, the Department may submit to the Board a report of the alleged breach.
  17. (1)   The Board may revoke the licence of a prisoner who is convicted of an offence committed during the period of release on licence.
  18. If a prisoner is released on licence and subsequently becomes incapacitated or the prisoner's medical condition has deteriorated, or both, the Board may vary the terms of the licence.
  19. (1)   Where the Board has reasonable grounds to suspect that a prisoner has committed, is about to, or is likely to, commit a serious offence, the Board shall immediately suspend the licence and recall the prisoner to prison.
  20. (1)   The Board shall, within three months after the end of each financial year, forward to the Governor an annual report of the operation of the Board during that year.
  21. Members of the Board other than full-time public servants shall receive such remuneration or allowance as may be prescribed by the Governor.
  22. The Cabinet may make regulations prescribing all matters that are required or permitted by this Law to be prescribed, or are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for giving effect to the purposes of this Law.
  23. A prisoner who is dissatisfied with a decision of the Board may seek leave from the Grand Court to apply for judicial review of the decision and the Grand Court shall in that regard exercise all the powers vested in it in relation to judicial review.
  24. (1)   Within twenty-four months after the entry into force of this Law, the Director of Prisons shall send to the Grand Court the case records of all prisoners serving life sentences, excluding those whose applications for release on licence are pending under section 31A of the Prison Law, 1975, and the Grand Court shall, in exercise of the powers contained in section 14, pronounce in open court a period of incarceration for each prisoner, and in so doing shall exercise the powers specified in section 14 as if it were sentencing an accused who has been convicted.

Published October 26, 2014

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