The offer by a group of prisoners to serve the remaining two years jail term for a terminally-ill inmate may be a noble gesture but it is not permissible by law.

“It’s not possible. A punishment is given to the individual and cannot be passed on to another person. The only way to get out of jail before your time is up is through a Presidential pardon,” a criminal lawyer said.

Convicted murderer Salvu Gauci, 63 applied for a Presidential pardon to be freed from jail so that he can die with his family.

In 2001, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for stabbing and killing his sister-in-law Anna Kok. Due to remission, which reduces sentences for good behaviour, he should be released in December 2012.

His family and fellow inmates have appealed for his release on television, through the programmes Bondiplus and Xarabank. However, the victim’s husband, Peter Kok, is insisting the man should remain behind bars.

A number of prisoners offered to serve Mr Gauci’s remaining time.

“It’s a nice gesture but they can’t do it. A jail term is not transferable,” a lawyer said.

Prison director Abraham Zammit said that when a person was imprisoned, the only way he could get out before serving time was through an appeal or a Presidential pardon.

A prominent criminal lawyer agreed, adding that the punishment of a prisoner could not be transferred to another person as is the case with civil debt.

““If this were allowed it would open the flood gates to abuse. You’d have rich convicted people paying poor people to serve their jail term... This case has to be tacked on humanitarian grounds and the inmate can leave prison early only if a Presidential pardon is granted according to the Constitution,” he said.

A colleague shared the same opinion: “No one can serve a criminal punishment for someone else. It’s tied to the individual.”

The chairman of the Prison Board of Visitors, Ivan Mifsud said: “This gesture of solidarity impressed me but I don’t think it’s possible. It shows that, despite the fact that they are in prison, they are people with feelings for one another.”