Fiji Corrections Service Commissioner Jalesi Nakarawa stated that there are no legal barriers preventing George Speight from requesting mercy. Speight, known for his role in the 2000 coup, along with former leader of the Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit Shane Stevens, was among seven individuals who received a Presidential Pardon last Thursday.
Speight was convicted of treason in 2001 after pleading guilty, with his death sentence reduced to life imprisonment the following year. He has served 24 years, one month, and 23 days in custody, totaling 8,820 days, at both Nukulau Island and the Naboro Corrections Complex, and he has no prior criminal record.
Nakarawa clarified that discussions around Speight being pardoned twice are misleading, as the previous pardon was not a direct application from Speight. Instead, it was a legal adjustment during a time when the government was in the process of abolishing the death penalty, which had not been enforced since the 1960s. The ruling was based on a legal technicality before the abolition was finalized in Parliament.
“The final decision on any mercy application rests with the Mercy Commission,” Nakarawa explained. He noted that both Speight and Stevens were emotional upon learning about their pardons, expressing a strong desire to start anew and venture into business opportunities following their incarceration.
“It has been quite a long time for them, and they were both emotional and happy,” he remarked. Nakarawa concluded by urging the public to understand the efforts of the Corrections Service in adhering to the law, despite differing opinions on the matter.