Monitor those who receive presidential pardons

Oct 14, 2015 Letters

Dear Editor,
It seems as though our new political culture in Guyana these days revolve around being blatantly unapologetic and remorseless for whatever decisions we take, despite raised eyebrows and dissenting comments made by the citizenry.
One government minister is adamant that he does not have to justify salary increases. And now the honorable Granger has unequivocally reiterated his stance on pardoning young people for petty offences committed.
The former has already attracted and still continues to attract a lot of attention, both in the print and electronic media.
However, I want to comment on the position that our President is taking to pardon young people for perceived minor offences. But before I commence, let me state categorically that I am not averse to this.
I personally do not see the need for an individual to languish in a prison cell for years awaiting sentence for a lesser offence committed. Obviously this would put a further strain on the taxpayers’ dollars and prolonged imprisonment will only make them hardened criminals.
Nonetheless, I am a firm believer that an offence is an offence and no one should receive just a slap on the wrist. I suppose that this is tantamount to parents who are genuinely concerned about the welfare of their kids, in the sense that any offence committed by them is met with some form of disciplinary measure, after all if they are not punished, then they will never learn.
Similarly, I believe that there ought to be some kind of penalty for these offenders, be it community service or any other form of disciplinary action so that they can atone for their actions and subsequently do some introspection. After all, they are not infants.
So, I strongly suggest that there should be some form of rehabilitation before they are reintegrated back into the fabric of the society. I am not the moral police here, but one would think that there ought to be some mechanism in place to deal with these offenders.
It is my belief also, that these offenders should be monitored by the state just to ensure that they are in compliance with the expectations of the President.
While I do acquiesce that they may not be incorrigible, only some may see it as a lifeline to do better; there are those who will incontrovertibly resort to their familiar trade especially if earning an honest dollar is not part of their vocabulary.
I know that monitoring sounds like an insurmountable task and it is, but this may just appease the agitated fraction of the population.
Name provided

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