Court orders prison records be corrected by June 13

The Waigani National Court has ordered Bomana Correctional Institution to update the detention records of inmate Donald Steven Joe by Friday, June 13th, after finding his release date had been wrongly calculated.

Presiding Judge Justice David Cannings made the ruling on May 23rd, stating that Joe's constitutional right to full protection of the law under Section 37[1] had been breached when the Correctional Service set his release date as October 22, 2036.

The Court found that the correct Due Date of Release [DDR], factoring in time already served and remission, should be January 23, 2036.

Joe is currently serving two consecutive prison terms for separate armed robbery convictions.

He was first sentenced in August 2019 to 10 years, with 2 years and 3 months deducted for time spent in custody prior to sentencing. He was later sentenced in November 2020 to 18 years, which was set to begin after the first sentence ended.

Dissatisfied with the Correctional Service’s calculation, Joe filed a human rights application through the Public Solicitor, seeking a declaration of his correct release date.

Justice Cannings confirmed that every prisoner has the right to know their correct release date and to have it corrected if miscalculated.

The Court followed a two-step legal method, calculating the total sentence and subtracting lawful deductions such as time already served and remission to arrive at the new release date.

The Court declared that Joe is currently detained based on an incorrect release date, and ordered Bomana’s Jail Commander to ensure that a sealed copy of the court’s order is placed on Joe’s detainee file, and all records are updated to reflect the correct DDR by Friday June 6th.

The case was adjourned to next week Friday June 13 at 1:30pm for the Court to check if the Correctional Service has complied.