MBOMBELA – A life sentence is not one of 25 years.
This was confirmed in the Mpumalanga High Court in the city last week. During a detailed address prior to his delivering judgement in a murder case, the judge, Moses Mavundla dispelled this myth and explained what is meant by the term “life imprisonment”.
He started by referring to the meaning of “a life sentence” as we used to know it. “When we grew up, a life sentence meant one of two things: either you collapsed or the prison collapsed. That was how your life would have ended. Only then would you have gotten out of there.” However, times have changed.
In agreement with international policies, an increased amount of detainees have been released on parole after serving 25 years of their life sentences. This led to the common misconception that a life sentence amounts to 25 years.
Furthermore, misinterpretations of the Criminal Law Amendment Act have corroborated the incorrect conclusion. Section 51 of the Act prescribes minimum sentences for serious murders, rapes and robberies.
These minimum sentences vary between 10 years and life imprisonment. Those found guilty of such crimes, will be sent to at least 10, 15, 20, 25 years of life in prison, depending on the crime committed.
These sentences will only be shortened if the convicted criminal can prove to the court that this should be done.
• Life sentence:
The maximum time period prescribed by minimum sentencing regulations.
“Life imprisonment should not be confused with 25 years’ imprisonment,” said Mavundla on Thursday. He illustrated this with an example: “A person (called X for the purposes of this report) sentenced to be incarcerated for life will not automatically be released after serving 25 years of his life sentence,” he said.
According to Mavundla, X will be entitled to apply to be considered for release on parole after having served a quarter of a century of his life sentence. “If the parole board considers X fit for release, he may be released on parole,” said Mavundla. He stressed that some convicts are barred from applying for parole when they are sentenced. “In such cases, they will not be eligible for parole,” he said.
Mavundla illustrated another important difference between a life sentence and a 25-year sentence: “Once sentenced to 25 years, a person can be considered for parole after serving a portion of his sentence.” According to the Department of Correctional Services’ parole regulations, the following minimum periods of imprisonment must be served before detainees can be considered for parole:
• Determinate sentences: Half of the sentence or the non-parole period as specified by the court or 25 years of the sentence, whichever is the shortest.
• Life imprisonment: After having served 25 years.
• Persons declared habitual criminals: After having served at least seven years.
• Scheduled offences in terms of the Criminal Law Amendment Act: After serving 80 per cent of the sentence, but the court may rule that only two-thirds of the sentence need to be served.
