Providencial 07 Jul 2015 – Finally, the Mercy Committee has had a subsequent meeting after being legally in existence in the TCI since September 2013 and meeting initially then. The Governor’s Office not only shared names of the members of the group but that there are 15 cases up for review by the Committee which has the power to grant pardons for convicted offenders, exoneration from punishment for crime; to substitute a lesser penalty for crime and to delay or reverse penalty for any crime. There are people who are seemingly prime for pardons from the Mercy Committee, but are held up by the infrequent meetings and continue to have criminal records which prevent them from getting a job for example.
But the Committee in that meeting July 2nd, found that the applicants are not clear, there is pertinent information missing and so it is decided the TCI will create a standard application which will be modeled after some already in existence. The Governor also said some appeals need to be passed on to the Commissioner of Police who has the power to wipe eligible candidates’ police records clean. Constant questions in the House of Assembly on when the Mercy Committee would convene likely moved things along for the group which is led by the Governor, Attorney General and includes Fr. Bernard Been, Oral Selver, Emily Saunders and Mervyn Cox. The new applications will be available soon and according to HE, Peter Beckingham, the Mercy Committee will again meet in the third quarter of the year and it is hoped the Committee will be able to make decisions on the applications in time for the holidays.
