Bishop backs call by Pope to reduce prison sentences

The auxiliary Bishop of Dublin, Dr Eamonn Walsh, has suggested that prison sentences might be reduced by two months for each year of official sentences, following consultation with relevant groups.

Speaking in the context of Pope John Paul's plea to governments yesterday for a reduction of jail terms "as a gesture of clemency" to mark Jubilee Day for Prisoners tomorrow week, Dr Walsh said that where Irish prisons were concerned "we are sitting on a scandal that we will be accountable for in the future".

A former chaplain to Arbour Hill Prison and women prisoners in Mountjoy, Dr Walsh said the focus in penal policy must "change completely from an emphasis on safe custody to the constructive use of time in prison".

"All of us in society have a responsibility to make sure our prisons are effective and dignified at the same time. We can't just say it is the governor's problem.

"There is nothing more soul-destroying than having people, as at present, in lots of our prisons where there is nothing happening during the day and people are going around in a daze of idleness. It's soul-destroying and certainly doesn't prepare people for reentry into society with the hope of being constructive contributors," he said.

He recommended that the part of the Pope's pastoral letter on prisoners should be taken seriously and suggested that a programme be designed for each prisoner within six months of admission, taking into account their needs, their family circumstances and their hope for the future.

On the Pope's pleas for clemency, a possibility might be that a person's official sentence could be reduced by one month for each (Christian) millennium, or by two months in every 12.

"But that would be something that would have to be worked out in conjunction with an overall plan for each prisoner and that would involve bringing on board Victims Support, the Penal Reform Trust, the guards, the prison officers," he said. "If that were to come out of this jubilee message, then it would mark a new pathway for penal reform," whereas if things continued as they were, they were sitting on a scandal for which we would be accountable.

In his pleas to governments, Pope John Paul said "even a modest reduction" would be a clear sign to prisoners "of sensitivity to their condition". While imprisonment as punishment was as old as human history, "what is clear to all is that this kind of punishment generally succeeds only in part in addressing the phenomenon of crime. In fact, in some cases detention seems to create more problems than it solves. This must prompt rethinking with a view to some kind of reform . . ." he said.