PHILIPSBURG--Alleged discrimination between foreign and national criminals' eligibility for early release was the focus of a closed court hearing for attorney Shaira Bommel and Minister of Justice Roland Duncan on Thursday.
In a pre-hearing interview with The Daily Herald, Bommel said the Minister had a policy that all foreign criminals must serve their full sentences and are denied opportunity for early release.
Duncan responded that the persons who were being denied had been incarcerated for less than a year. "It is ridiculous to let persons out based solely on good behaviour. Some sentences for certain crimes need to be completely served," said Duncan.
Bommel argued that based on the constitution, distinctions in treatment could not be based on race or nationality. She said early release could be denied only if the Minister thought a candidate was still a threat to society.
"If the Minister wants to send a message to foreigners coming to the island not to commit crimes by not allowing early release, he has to make changes to the constitution and the criminal code. Otherwise, giving nationals preference is discrimination."
Early release is not a free pass; it comes with conditions. The general conditions stipulate that the probation will be revoked if the person commits a crime. Special conditions require the candidate to report to the probation officer or the Prosecutor's Office.
Duncan said rehabilitating foreign criminals was not priority because of limited resources. His focus is working with the Education Department to create programmes that prevent youths from even considering criminal activity.
After Thursday's hearing, the judges went into deliberation on the case. Bommel gave a briefing on the proceedings.
The Minster's legal counsel said in court that because of limited resources, those released on probation were not properly supervised and therefore they could not be considered for early release. This may be more difficult when foreign criminals return to their home country.
Bommel said this argument was invalid, as there were treaties available through which countries could make arrangements for criminals being released into another's country's custody. Supervision would then be an issue for the country to which the suspect is released, not for St. Maarten.
Currently there are about two dedicated parole officers. Bommel said 10-15 of her clients were currently on parole. One of her clients has been contacted by a probation officer only once since being released in September 2011. From this it is clear that lack of manpower and supervision is a real concern. Therefore, the number of persons being released must be limited.
Still, Bommel maintains the view that the Minister has no legal grounds to say that all foreigners must serve their full sentence.
This paper reported on January 3 that investigation of an armed robbery of a tourist couple had led to the arrest of five Anguilla nationals, one of whom was a wanted fugitive from Anguilla, Romain Walters
Minister Duncan said in a general statement in January that all persons who were found guilty of criminal acts committed in St. Maarten were expected to serve time here.
All of the arrested Anguillians currently remain in St. Maarten police custody.
