Judiciary's new policy spells doom for death row convicts
Chief Justice Willy Mutunga with Justice Msagha Mbogholi (right) in Nairobi on January 25, 2016 during the launch of new guidelines on the sentencing of criminals. Justice Mbogholi led a team that came up with the policy. PHOTO | EVAN HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
Careless drivers will also have their sentences reviewed.
Drug addicts will be sent to a rehabilitation centre instead of prison.
The disabled, elderly and terminally ill convicts will now receive special treatment while in custody or have their jail terms reduced.
The new policy guidelines were launched by Chief Justice Willy Mutunga at the Supreme Court.
New guidelines on the sentencing of criminals have proposed a mandatory death sentence to capital offenders, dealing a blow to several death row inmates who wanted life imprisonment.
The guidelines, however, bring relief to disabled, elderly and terminally ill convicts, who will now receive special treatment while in custody or have their jail terms reduced.
“Since the death penalty has not been abolished, judges must impose the death sentence with respect to capital offences. To curb their stay in prison, the court should recommend to the president to have a fixed time for a review of the cases, after which they should face death,” say the guidelines.
The new policy further makes it possible for a convict to be sentenced to death in more than one case, although the individual will be hanged as per the first sentence, with the others being held in abeyance.
In reviewing the sentencing for the disabled, the elderly and the terminally ill, it was discovered that prisons do not have special facilities to cater for their interests, which exposes them to inhuman treatment.
As a result, the guidelines propose that the courts must ensure the sentencing does not amount to excessive punishment.
Careless drivers will also have their sentences reviewed, as the policy proposes that instead of being made to pay fines, the traffic offenders should have their licences suspended so that they stop driving for a certain period.
The guidelines will also bring relief to those who cannot raise bond or cash bail and spend the trial days in remand, as the policy recommends that their sentencing must factor in the period they have been held in custody.
“If a person has been in remand for two years and is finally found guilty and sentenced to two years in prison, that person should be released because he will have served the prison sentence while in remand,” says the guidelines.
The policy also makes special recommendations for drug addicts, proposing that an individual who has been found guilty of addiction should be sent to a rehabilitation centre instead of prison.
The new policy guidelines were launched by Chief Justice Willy Mutunga at the Supreme Court.
They were prepared by a team of judges at the Judicial Training Institute, led by Justice Msagha Mbogholi.
