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Jail Reforms
The NHRC on Friday said it has issued a notice to Kerala's director general of prisons over reports alleging "non-availability" of infrastructure and manpower to help inmates in pursuing education online. "Another challenge is that some dangerous criminals are also now trying to apply for regular course as a devious tactic to get the interim release to facilitate travel outside the prison," the rights panel said in a statement quoting the reports. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken "suo motu cognisance of a media report highlighting the issue of non-availability of infrastructure and manpower to provide for the prisoners to pursue education in Kerala jails," it said. "Reportedly, the growing number of inmates, including those convicted of grave crimes, are choosing to turn their lives around by enrolling in regular or online educational courses, but the authorities are struggling to support their efforts," the statement said The Commission has observed that the .
Taking suo motu cognisance of difficulties being faced by prisoners including women inmates in various jails across the country, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notices to chief secretaries of all the states and Union Territories, seeking reports within four weeks. These problems include overcrowding, lack of basic amenities and healthcare facilities in jails, the NHRC said in a statement. "The issues have been brought to its notice by its Special Monitors and Rapporteurs, through their reports after visiting various jails across the country, as well as the complaints," it said. The Commission said it has issued notices to the chief secretaries of all the states and Union Territories (UTs) seeking a report from them in four weeks, which should include various details. These include the number of women prisoners lodged in jails in a state, the number of women prisoners whose babies are lodged in jails on account of the mothers being incarcerated, the number of
Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Tuesday revealed it was President Droupadi Murmu's speech on the plight of inmates that "kindled" a conversation, prompting the publication of a report by the Supreme Court. CJI Chandrachud, speaking at the release of "Prisons in India: Mapping Prison Manuals and Measures for Reformation and Decongestion" at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, thanked the President for her "stirring speech" highlighting the plight of prisoners, especially undertrials, at the 2022 Constitution Day celebrations. "The speech of the President kindled a conversation at the Supreme court and culminated in one of the reports being released today. This report is a result of the President's vision and it is but appropriate that it is being released by her," he said. The CJI added, "I daresay that this is an example of what can be achieved when the different branches of the state share a constitutional goal." Apart from the report on the prisons, the President released "Justice
The Supreme Court has issued a slew of directions aimed at standardising and improving the transparency of policies governing permanent remission to convicts in the country. The directions of the bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih mandate greater accessibility to policy information, timely communication of decisions, and individualised consideration of cases to prevent arbitrary conditions. The bench was hearing a suo motu case of 2021 titled as "Policy Strategy for Grant of Bail" and directed all states and union territories to inform convicts of any rejection of applications for permanent remission within one week. They will also have to forward copies of these rejections to the district legal services authorities concerned to ensure appropriate steps were taken to provide legal aid to the convicts. At this stage, we issue the following directions, which will apply to all the states: (i) The copies of the existing policies governing the grant of ...
South Carolina put Richard Moore to death by lethal injection Friday for the 1999 fatal shooting of a convenience store clerk, despite a broad appeal for mercy by parties that included three jurors and the judge from his trial, a former prison director, pastors and the his family. Moore, 59, was pronounced dead at 6:24 p.m. Moore was convicted of killing the Spartanburg convenience store clerk in September 1999 and sentenced to death two years later. Moore went into the store unarmed, took a gun from the victim when it was pointed at him and fatally shot him in the chest as the victim shot him with a second gun in the arm. Moore's lawyers asked Republican Gov. Henry McMaster to reduce his sentence to life in prison without parole because of his spotless prison record and willingness to be a mentor to other inmates. They also said it would be unjust to execute someone for what could be considered self-defense and unfair that Moore, who is Black, was the only inmate on the state's dea
An attempted jailbreak in Congo's main prison left 129 people dead, including some who were shot by guards and soldiers and others who died in a stampede at the overcrowded facility, authorities said Tuesday. One prominent activist put the death toll at more than 200. A provisional assessment showed that 24 inmates were fatally shot by warning" shots fired by guards as they tried to escape from the Makala Central Prison in the capital Kinshasa early on Monday, Congolese Interior Minister Jacquemin Shabani said on the social media platform X. There are also 59 injured people taken into care by the government, as well as some cases of women raped, he said, adding that order had been restored at the prison, part of which was burned in the attempted jailbreak. Shabani did not elaborate on the incidents of rape in the prison, which has both male and female inmates, as well as military personnel facing charges. It wasn't immediately clear if all 129 fatalities were inmates and officials
The Supreme Court on Monday said there cannot be a bail condition which allows the police to peep into the private life of an accused in a criminal case. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan set aside a bail condition imposed by the Delhi High Court requiring a Nigerian national to share the Google Maps pin in his mobile device with the investigating officer in a drugs case. Justice Oka, pronouncing the verdict said, "There cannot be a bail condition defeating the very objective of bail itself. We have said Google pin cannot be a bail condition. There can't be a bail condition enabling the police to constantly track the movement of the accused. Police cannot be allowed to peep into the private life of the accused on bail." The court pronounced the verdict on a plea of Frank Vitus, a Nigerian national challenging the bail condition in a drugs case. On April 29, the top court had reserved its verdict said it would examine whether one of the conditions imposed by the Delhi
Authorities have distributed smart cards to nearly 650 inmates from the Harsul Central Jail in Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city to help them stay in touch with their family members and lawyers, an official said on Wednesday. The smart cards will allow the inmates to make three free calls, each for six minutes, a week, a district official said in a release. Many families cannot come to meet their prisoner relatives in jail due to financial conditions. Therefore, to connect the prisoners with their families (and lawyers), smart cards have been provided to 650 prisoners at Harsul jail, the release said. However, the release did not specify if the inmates can call only those numbers shared in advance with the jail authorities or any number they choose. The facility calling booth has been made available on the prison premises for the prisoners as well as those under judicial custody, it said. The Harsul correctional set-up is one of the nine central jails in Maharashtra.
A prisoner cannot be made to suffer due to the inadequacy of policies and a firm attitude by the court was needed to "awaken the relaxed authorities from their slack approach" towards prisoners' fundamental rights, the Delhi High Court has observed. The court made the observations while issuing a slew of guidelines for quantifying and assessing the compensation to be paid to a prisoner for injuries sustained while working in jail. In case a convict suffers work-related amputation or a life-threatening injury, the court said, the jail superintendent will be duty-bound to inform the concerned jail inspecting judge within 24 hours of the incident. A three-member committee comprising Director General (Prisons) of Delhi, medical superintendent of a government hospital and secretary of Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DSLSA) of the concerned district will be constituted to assess and quantify the compensation to be paid to the victim, it said. The court also said that interim ...