NASSAU, The Bahamas (CMC) — The Bahamas Department of Correctional Services is struggling 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 they do not return to the country.

Speaking to The Tribune newspaper on Wednesday, National Security Minister Wayne Munroe confirmed that 85 inmates were being processed for deportation.

The group included Haitian, Jamaican and American nationals, with the majority being deported to Haiti.

According to the minister, the inmates had varying sentence lengths. Some were serving time for immigration violations and had only a few months remaining. Others were nearing the end of sentences for drug offences.

He added that the influx of undocumented immigrants into the prison system has pushed the population higher, forcing officials to make room for those coming in. He said the Government was 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 mercy, not a court decision.

In The Bahamas, it is exercised by the governor-general, usually acting 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 tool to regulate the prison population and reduce the risk of legal challenges 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, with undocumented immigrants sent to prison through the courts having contributed to overcrowding. The prison was constructed to hold 1300 inmates.

He said there were no issues maintaining control within the facility, but overcrowding has caused discomfort among inmates sharing cells or dormitories.

Between last year and this year, the prison received more than 200 undocumented immigrants, he said, noting that it costs the Government nearly US$17,000 a year to house one inmate, a figure that covers food only, not medical or dental care.