The Justice Ministry is drafting new rules that would require prisoners sentenced to death or life imprisonment to serve far longer behind bars before becoming eligible for prisoner-classification upgrades, parole or other sentence-reduction benefits.
The proposed changes come days after public scrutiny over the release of former drug kingpin Laota Saenlee, whose life sentence was reduced through a series of royal pardons before he was freed after serving a bit over nine years in prison.
Under the draft regulation, inmates sentenced to death would have to serve at least 25 years in prison before being considered for a classification upgrade, while those serving life sentences would need to complete at least 20 years, Daily News Online reported on Sunday, citing a senior Justice Ministry source.
The source said the proposed minimum terms were intended as a public-safety safeguard to ensure offenders convicted of the most serious crimes serve substantial periods in prison before becoming eligible for sentence reductions or parole.
The proposal is under review by a government working group examining criminal-sentence enforcement and measures to prevent recidivism. Officials say the new framework would establish clearer minimum imprisonment periods for serious offenders and strengthen public confidence in the justice system.
At its first meeting on Friday, the panel reviewed prison policies in several countries. Data presented showed that serious offenders in Thailand may become eligible for certain benefits after serving an average of 8-15 years, compared with about 20-25 years in the United States, 15-30 years in the United Kingdom and 15 years in Germany.
The proposed rules would also apply to corruption, political and national-security cases in which courts impose death or life sentences. Such offenders would be placed in the highest-risk prisoner category and would not be considered for advancement, sentence reductions or parole until they had served the new minimum term. Less serious offenders would continue to be governed by existing regulations.
The draft also proposes minimum prison terms for serious multi-count offences under Section 91 of the Criminal Code. Prisoners would have to serve at least five years in cases carrying combined sentences of up to 10 years, 10 years for combined sentences of up to 20 years, and 20 years for combined sentences of up to 50 years.
The working group is due to meet again on Monday before submitting the draft to the Corrections Committee for approval.