The Bahamas Department of Correctional Services is grappling with overcrowding as more undocumented immigrants facing criminal charges enter the prison system, prompting the government to deport 85 inmates granted the prerogative of mercy on the condition that they do not return to the country.
Speaking to The Tribune on Wednesday, National Security Minister Wayne Munroe confirmed that the inmates were being processed for deportation.
The group includes Haitian, Jamaican and American nationals, with the majority expected to be deported to Haiti.
According to Munroe, the inmates were serving sentences of varying lengths. Some were imprisoned for immigration violations and had only a few months remaining on their sentences, while others were nearing the end of terms related to drug offences.
He said the growing number of undocumented immigrants entering the prison system has pushed the population higher, forcing officials to create space for new arrivals. As a result, the government has been using the prerogative of mercy to release certain inmates early.
The prerogative of mercy is the constitutional power to reduce, suspend or cancel a criminal sentence after conviction. It is an act of executive clemency rather than a court decision. In The Bahamas, the authority is exercised by the Office of the Governor-General of The Bahamas, typically on the advice of the government.
Munroe said the process applies to inmates convicted of non-violent and non-sexual offences.
“With foreign nationals, we take a view that we’re going to deport you, and the condition is going to be, you don’t return to The Bahamas without the permission of the director of immigration,” he said. “If you do, you breach the term of your release and you have to serve the balance of the sentence. Then we deport you back to your home country.”
He described the prerogative of mercy as a practical tool to regulate the prison population while reducing the risk of legal challenges related to detention conditions.
“So to keep the violent fellas in, you look at persons who may have another month, another two months, another three months to go, another sentence, and you release them early,” Munroe said.
Prison Commissioner Doan Cleare said the most recent occupancy stood at 1,801 inmates, well above the facility’s designed capacity of about 1,300.
While authorities have maintained control inside the prison, Cleare acknowledged that overcrowding has created discomfort among inmates sharing cells or dormitories.
Between last year and this year, the prison system received more than 200 undocumented immigrants through the courts. He noted that it costs the government nearly US$17,000 per year to house a single inmate, a figure that covers food only and does not include medical or dental care.
