Governor-General grants early release of Canadian inmate

The Governor-General, Sir Patrick Allen, has granted the early release request for a Canadian national whose sentence was being served in Jamaica.

The inmate was charged for possession of and attempts to export cocaine. Receiving a sentence of two years and six months, he was scheduled for release on July 6, 2020.

A release from King's House, dated May 15,  said that the Canadian inmate has maintained a record of discipline and good behaviour with no breach of rules since imprisonment. 

“The current pandemic and its uncertainty, particularly as it relates to travel, also influenced this course of action. The inmate departed Jamaica on May 13, 2020, and was released on special conditions and at a cost to the Canadian Government," a section of the release read.

The Governor-General also exercises the prerogative of mercy on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen.

“In exercising the prerogative of mercy (including the power to grant pardon to any person who has been sentenced to death), the Governor-General acts on the advice of the Jamaican Privy Council,” the release said.

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