TCI Parole Board Decisions too slow 

Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer 

#TurksandCaicos, January 20, 2024 – A cry for help is coming from the family of inmates incarcerated at His Majesty’s Prison Grand Turk as they report excruciating wait times for Parole Board meetings and decisions; the current process going against the very spirit of what the body represents to inmates who qualify on the basis of time served or good behaviour or both.

Families who wished to remain unidentified reached out to our newsroom in early January with several concerns. Not only did family members describe the time it took to get a Parole Board application for their loved one as extensive, they also complained that they had to wait months after applying to hear whether they were successful or not.

Residents who spoke up but only on the basis of anonymity out of fear that their family members would be victimized, they said. They did indicate that some inmates had been waiting to hear back from the Parole Board for over six months having submitted their applications.

Magnetic Media has reached out to Michael Woodbine, Head of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Office of the Governor, which must approve the parole orders on recommendation from the Board; to find out what was causing the delay.

So far no response has been shared but  the Department of Rehabilitation and Community Services, under which the Parole Board sits, is in need of more resources according to employees.

In November 2023 Jaron Harvey, the Director said, “We are functioning at about 86 percent success rate with limited resources.”

Inmates can apply for parole after one third of their sentences are complete, however, the Board reportedly meets infrequently and considerations of decisions is a protracted exercise, say those speaking to Magnetic Media.

We are told some offenders wait out their entire sentence without any response to their parole applications.

In the case of those speaking to our news team, it was explained “for us it’s as simple as knowing the result; whether it is positive or negative so we can move on.”