Fiji Corrections Service Commissioner Jalesi Nakarawa announced that there is no legal barrier preventing George Speight from requesting a mercy application. Speight, known for his role in the 2000 coup, along with former Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit leader Shane Stevens, was one of seven individuals granted a Presidential Pardon last Thursday.
Speight was charged with treason and, after pleading guilty in 2001, received a death sentence which was later commuted to life imprisonment in 2002. He has been incarcerated for 24 years, one month, and 23 days, amounting to 8,820 days, spent both on Nukulau Island and at the Naboro Corrections Complex, without any prior convictions.
Commissioner Nakarawa clarified the misunderstanding surrounding Speight’s pardons, stating that the legal circumstances surrounding his first pardon were different. He noted that it was not a direct application from Speight but rather a response to a legal situation at the time when the death penalty’s abolition was pending in Parliament.
Nakarawa emphasized that the perception of Speight being pardoned twice is inaccurate and reiterated that the final decision regarding mercy applications rests with the Mercy Commission. He shared that both Speight and Stevens were emotional upon receiving news of their pardon and expressed intentions to rebuild their lives, including aspirations to start businesses based on the lessons learned during their imprisonment.
He urged the public to recognize that the corrections service is committed to fulfilling their duties according to the law, despite differing opinions on such matters.