A close analysis of reports about delinquents apprehended while committing various kinds of crimes in the country shows some, if not most, of them are former prisoners.
This clearly indicates the individuals in question were not fully reformed—that is if we consider those who were released after serving their sentences in full.
On the other hand, it may show that those who were pardoned by President Lazarus Chakwera to mark the July 6 Independence Day celebrations and as a show of clemency during Easter were not eligible for early release.
The latter assumption makes more sense, especially if you consider sporadic assessments of most of the suspected criminals that are being arrested.
Sometime back, a group of people residing in Lilongwe’s low-density areas bemoaned the sudden rise in robberies in their locations which came just days or weeks after the Easter pardons.
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So, it clearly shows there is something wrong with how convicts are assessed for remission.
To put things in their right context, a pardon is an expression of the President’s forgiveness and it is ordinarily granted in recognition of the prisoner’s established good conduct for a significant period of time after conviction.
Further, a prisoner is eligible of being pardoned after having served more than half of their prison term, the idea being that after such a period, they must have been reformed.
But, we must acknowledge the fact that not everyone can be fully rehabilitated in prison. There are those who will return to commit crimes even after fully serving their sentences.
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There are many reasons for recidivism, the act of a person repeating an undesirable behaviour after they have experienced negative consequences of that behaviour, or have been trained to extinguish it.
Researchers point out that recidivists are mostly males who “did not go far with education” or do not have stable employment.
In Malawi, prison conditions—which basically harden off inmates instead of reforming them—result in the convicts developing a “thick skin” and not fearing crime.
There is also an uncommon argument advanced by some observers who state that sometimes the conditions of life outside prison push ex-convicts back to crime so that they can return to a facility where they are given free food and do not have heavy responsibilities.
Strange as it may sound, life is tough out here and the possibility of someone desiring to return to prison might be there.
Anyway, that is not the gist of this entry. The issue is the rise in crimes committed by ex-convicts, particularly those who were recently pardoned by the President.
Of course, the pardons served several purposes including decongesting prisons and allowing those who were terminally or chronically ill to have the necessary care in normal homes.
But, we cannot rule out elements of fraud and corruption in the exercise.
Indeed, the committee that assesses people for pardon eligibility consists of officers of high standing, but the basis of the recommendations also matters.
After all, there have been cases of pardons being questioned for apparently failing to meet the minimum benchmarks, such as where a murder convict sentenced to life benefits from an early release just after serving a few years.
While the push to decongest our prisons makes perfect sense, there should be due diligence in determining who should be released early to avoid thrusting back into the public criminals who have not been reformed.
Having ex-convicts committing criminal acts just days or weeks after their release simply shows the system has failed to do its job of curbing crime.
It is sometimes unfortunate that people who have really reformed and meet the minimum threshold for pardon are not given a chance because of whatever shenanigans going on in our prisons.
We need to go back to the drawing board and put in place strict processes when assessing prisoners for pardon.
Now, the fact that some ex-convicts return to terrorise communities is also contributing to mob justice.
Appalled by the sustained criminal conducts of the former prisoners, angry mobs are descending on them like thunder after seeing that the system has sent them back to haunt communities.
So, with more people being released from prison before they are fully reformed going back to commit more crimes, come more cases of mob justice.
This is not to glorify such kind of extra judicial punishment but it is important to take into consideration everything that might be contributing to it.
There should be a proper balance between decongesting prisons and maintaining the safety and security of people and property.
Let pardons not turn into another controversial issue in the country to the extent that the suspicions result in prisoners who deserve that kind of mercy failing to benefit from their eligibility.
