Profiles

147 Inmates granted festival parole for reunion

By Kang Yi (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-02-14 16:46

One hundred and forty-seven inmates from five major prisons in Beijing will celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year in their homes. The Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court has granted them a festival parole, reported the Beijing Times Wednesday.

A parolee carefully reads a parole letter in this undated photo. [File]

The Spring Festival is regarded as a grand cultural occasion and a prime time for family reunion in China.

Zhang Fen has spent the past two Spring Festivals behind bars. But this year, she's going home. She could hardly wait to cook dinner for her parents after hearing the news.

The first squad of 10 inmates was released yesterday by the local prisons and the inmates now are on their way home.

"Festival parole is a part of our reeducation to make new men and women out of inmates," Pan Kaiyuan, Beijing Prison Administrative Bureau director told the press.

The home for the holiday program took shape in 1985. Inmates with good behavior can apply for a parole from three to seven days during major national festivals.

In China, inmates who have served more than half of their terms, and who show signs of repentance and pose no threat to society can be paroled to serve the rest of their terms outside prison.

By comparison, a festival parole is more like a reward for inmates who haven't yet reached the halfway point in serving their time and therefore aren't yet eligible for real parole.

It is reported that 1,182 inmates were granted parole last year in Beijing.

In 2006, 12 inmates from the Beijing Women's Prison were allowed a 24-hour 'honeymoon' for good behavior in prison. Inside the prison, private rooms and dinners were prepared for the 12 winners and their husbands were allowed to visit them for the day.