Victims of crime are “shocked” that the people who wronged them are being given an amnesty allowing them to get away with a lighter punishment without having done anything to deserve it.
“When the [Home Affairs] minister went to prison and exposed the inefficiencies there earlier this year, I thought that was great. But now I am shocked to hear about this amnesty. Anyone who steps into court will clearly see there are more victims than prisoners suffering due to the inefficiencies of the system,” a victim of crime told Times of Malta.
Roberta Lepre from Victim Support Malta said amnesties – like the one announced by Government this week - “impinge on the victims’ right to reparation, while also undermining the rule of law.”
This comment was backed up by criminologist Sandra Scicluna who believes general amnesties do no justice to the victims.
“It is also unfair on society since the courts impose a decision that is then changed because there is interference,” she said.
But Maria Muscat, whose boyfriend is currently serving a 10-year jail term, sees things differently.
“This amnesty gives us hope… People in prison are usually forgotten. I understand there are people out there who don’t understand and don’t agree with the amnesty. But you have to know someone and love someone in prison to understand how even a few months means a lot,” Ms Muscat said.
On Tuesday Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia visited the Corradino Correctional Facility where he told a crowd of 500 cheering prisoners – several of whom he shook by the hand and even in some cases embraced – he would be granting an amnesty to commemorate Labour’s victory in the March election.
The following day, when speaking in Parliament, he gave more details, saying prisoners would benefit from a reduction of 100 days from their jail term.
Among the reasons he listed was the scale of Labour’s victory and that the period is relatively short for those serving long sentences.
God forbid that he, and people like him, get out early after what he did
Dr Mallia said the amnesty – which will see the release of 143 inmates this year – would not apply to rapists, human traffickers and prisoners convicted of abusing minors. The minister said the amnesty was intended as a gesture of goodwill to help in the rehabilitation of prisoners; something he is committed to.
Opposition home affairs spokesman Jason Azzopardi slammed the move, saying it sent the wrong message – especially as the minister made the announcement at the prison where he was “greeted with open arms”.
Dr Scicluna, a senior lecturer at the University of Malta’s Criminology Department, believes amnesties are “generally unfair”.
“General amnesties are not seen as a positive thing from the criminology point of view.
“All prisoners are getting a reward without having to work for it. Reward is a very important part of reform,” Dr Scicluna said. She argued that amnesties left victims and society feeling cheated.
“They are unfair on victims who want to see the perpetrator get a complete punishment,” she said, pointing out that inmates already have a statutory discount, known as remission, which shaves four months off every year jailed.
But Dr Scicluna said the system can also be unfair towards inmates.
“Why should a person in jail today get 100 days removed while someone in jail next year does not?”
In this case, she added, the amnesty discriminates between types of crime based on societal perceptions. Dr Scicluna said criminologists did not look at the seriousness of a crime in terms of those that create “moral panic” in society – such as murder, rape and paedophilia.
Instead the seriousness is calculated in terms of risk – that is, the likelihood of the offender committing the offence again once released.
A woman who was raped by her father when she was a child said that people like him should not be released even an hour earlier than their full term.
“God forbid that he, and people like him, get out early after what he did,” she told Times of Malta.
News of the amnesty created much debate.
Commenting on social media platforms, several people questioned why people who broke the law were rewarded because of a change in Government. What did law-abiding citizens receive to mark the occasion?
Many also questioned what reward there was for the victims.
Dr Lepre called on the Government to transpose the 2012 EU directive on victims’ rights into Maltese law “in order to strengthen the victims’ position within our criminal justice system, which is currently clearly biased in favour of offenders.”
She acknowledged the Government’s commitment to reform the justice system and offenders was a good thing.
“It is with true and effective reform programmes, rather than gratuitous amnesties, that harm within our communities can be reduced,” she said.