Urgent rule of law appeal – Possible collapse of the parole system and the protection of Judicial and inmate rights (Part One)

Honourable Ministers, Honourable Attorney General, Your Excellencies, 

This letter is submitted as an urgent, principled, and respectful appeal by the Bartica United Youth Development Group (BUYDG), a civil society organisation dedicated to the protection of human rights, the rule of law, and constitutional governance in Guyana. 

We write in circumstances of serious national concern, in which a central component of Guyana’s criminal justice system, the Parole Act, Cap. 11:08, appears to have wholly or partially collapsed in practice. The result is a systemic failure to provide the relief that sentencing and resentencing courts reasonably expect to be available under the law. Separately, the continued incarceration of persons who become seriously ill, may not survive their sentences, or are no longer fit for continued detention raises grave humanitarian and human rights concerns. Together, these failures have eroded public confidence in the administration of justice and have given rise to an escalating rule-of-law and human rights crisis. 

1. The collapse of a key component of our legal system 

Courts at all levels, Magistrates’ Courts, the High Court, Court of Appeal, and the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), continue to sentence or re-sentence prisoners with the understanding and expectation that parole

mechanisms exist and will function. Judges and magistrates operate under the assumption that: 

• Rehabilitation and good conduct will be recognised; 
• Parole eligibility will be assessed; 
• Conditional release options will be available as mandated by law. 

Yet, in reality, these expectations are not being met. Prisoners who have served their statutory eligibility periods for parole often have no effective or accessible mechanism to secure review or release. This gap undermines judicial authority, and raises serious questions regarding the separation of powers as entrenched in the Constitution of Guyana. 

1. Judicial expectations and inmate rights 

The former Chief Justice Ian Chang, in the commutation of death sentences to life imprisonment, emphasised that: 

• Life sentences must be subject to review; 
• Prolonged incarceration without meaningful parole violates Article 141 of the Constitution; 
• The human dignity and proportionality of punishment must be preserved through opportunities for conditional release. 

Similarly, in Attorney General of Belize v. Rosado & Others (CCJ), the Court affirmed that life-sentenced prisoners must have a realistic prospect of release, and that review mechanisms must exist both in law and in practice. 

The continued failure to operationalise the parole system undermines these judicial expectations, compromises the legal integrity of sentences, and denies inmates their statutory and constitutional rights to conditional release. 

III. Disregard for court rulings and budgetary increments

Since this government assumed office, allocations to rehabilitation programs have increased annually, yet the functional capacity of the Parole Board to act on its full mandate remains largely non-existent or ineffective. This situation reflects a troubling disregard for judicial pronouncements, including: 

• Magistrates, who impose determinate sentences, operate under the Parole Act which provides that inmates become eligible for parole after serving one-third of their sentence; 
• High Court judges, when imposing life sentences, fix parole eligibility thresholds in consideration of rehabilitation and readiness for reintegration; 
• Court of Appeal, when reviewing or resentencing life-sentenced inmates, often establishes fixed parole thresholds; 
• Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) guidance, which underscores that life sentences must allow realistic opportunities for conditional release and periodic review. 

Despite these judicial directives: 

• Some life-sentenced inmates with fixed parole thresholds have completed their eligibility periods without meaningful parole consideration; 
• Others, without fixed parole thresholds, remain in prison indefinitely, facing the same fate and even leaving to die just as she c . 

This systemic failure subjects both categories of lifers to prolonged incarceration with severe psychological, social, and emotional suffering, effectively amounting to gross mental hardship. It is not merely an administrative lapse but a collapse of a core judicial mechanism, undermining both the authority of the courts and the rights of prisoners. 

Without an effective parole mechanism, the State is nullifying the intent and authority of the courts, despite increased financial investment in rehabilitation programs.

1. Call for lawful intervention and a collective appeal to conscience 

This matter is no longer one for the Bartica United Youth Development Group alone. BUYDG has written to the Government of Guyana on multiple occasions on this very parole crisis. Yet silence has remained the prevailing response. 

Accordingly, this letter is addressed and copied widely to national and international stakeholders, including constitutional bodies, professional associations, civil society organisations, diplomatic missions, and international human rights institutions. Many of the recipients of this correspondence were previously written to on this same parole issue. Regrettably, silence has persisted not only from the Government, but from most institutions entrusted with safeguarding democracy, justice, and the rule of law. 

This raises a serious question of conscience: how can responsible leaders and institutions, who have taken an oath to serve the people of Guyana and globally, uphold the Constitution, and respect international human rights obligations, remain silent in the face of a possible collapsed parole system that directly undermines judicial authority and personal liberty? 

Recently, public advocacy by bodies such as the ABCU, together with several opposition parties, on the issue of an opposition appointment prompted sufficient pressure for the Speaker of the National Assembly to issue a public announcement indicating that the process would commence on Monday. That response demonstrates that when pressure is applied, constitutional action can follow. 

Yet, in a matter of far greater gravity, one involving liberty, judicial orders, the rule of law, and Guyana’s international human rights standing, silence has prevailed across the board. This parole crisis is not merely a domestic administrative issue; it is a serious constitutional, diplomatic, and human rights concern.

The continued silence of institutions and individuals who are duty-bound to speak, question, and act is deeply troubling. Silence in the face of systemic injustice does not preserve neutrality; it risks complicity. 

Notwithstanding this, BUYDG again writes in good faith, guided by law and conscience, with the hope that corrective action can still be taken within Guyana’s legal framework. 

In that spirit, BUYDG respectfully requests that the Government, in keeping with its legal and constitutional mandate, take urgent steps to: 

1. Provide clarity on the Parole Board’s current composition, chairpersonship, and statutory compliance; 
2. Publish the most recent report on the Board’s operations and decisions to the National Assembly; 
3. Ensure that all parole-eligible prisoners are reviewed and considered in accordance with the Parole Act and court expectations; 4. Reaffirm the State’s commitment to the rule of law, judicial independence, and adherence to national and international human rights standards. 

While BUYDG continues to seek administrative and lawful resolution, we do not rule out pursuing judicial remedies, with the support of international human rights bodies already engaged with us on a pro bono basis, this may include officially taking this matter to the IACHR and UNHRC, should inaction persist. 

VII. Conclusion 

The collapse of parole in Guyana represents not only a failure to implement a statutory system, but a direct undermining of the judiciary, the rights of prisoners, and public confidence in constitutional governance. 

This appeal is made in good faith, grounded in law, conscience, and constitutional duty. It is issued with the expectation that those entrusted with leadership, nationally and internationally, will now recognise the gravity

of what is at stake and act to preserve, protect, and restore the legal integrity of Guyana’s justice system. 

This letter constitutes Part One of a formal series, which will continue to address structural reforms, reporting obligations, and related matters arising from the continued failure of the parole system. 

Yours truly,

Kellion Leps 

General President (ag) & Secretary 

Human Rights and Prison Reform Division 

Bartica United Youth Development Group (BUYDG)