ST GEORGE'S (CMC):

Three prisoners who were among the infamous Grenada 17 jailed for the 1983 murders of former Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and several of his cabinet colleagues were due to be released from jail yesterday.

The decision was made by the local Mercy Committee, which has advised Governor General Carlyle Glean to remit the balance of the sentences of Hudson Austin, Colville McBarnette and John Ventour.

Based on this advice, the governor general on Wednesday issued the necessary documents, clearing the way for their immediate release.

"All three men will be released today, Thursday, December 18, 2008," the Grenada government announced in a release issued by the Office of the Prime Minister.

Based on Recommendations

It said prison reports had shown that "all three men have given leadership to the prison popu-lation during their incarceration at Richmond Hill".

The Tillman Thomas adminis-tration also said that the decision to free the men was based on the recommendations by Supreme Court Justice Francis Bell in his resentencing judgement last year.

"The previous (Keith Mitchell) administration did not pay heed to Justice Bell's recommendations and it was imperative that this administration give effect to the learned judge's counsel," the release said.

Special remission

In the resentencing judgment, Justice Bell handed down 40-year jail terms to each of the men.

He, however, recommended that Austin, who has been credited for his role in rebuilding the prison after the passage of Hurricane Ivan, be considered for special remission based on his conduct and service to the prison.