Convicted Murderer, Abraham Harrigan, Granted 30 day Respite for Medical Treatment

File Photo: Alistair Harrison - Governor of Anguilla

(The Valley, Anguilla) - HE The Governor of Anguilla, Alistair Harrison, announced in a Press Release today that following up on a report by the Superintendent of Prison, Conrad Gumbs, he  has granted a 30 day respite for medical reasons to 80 year old Abraham Harrigan who was convicted of the murder of 52-year old Mary Elaine Philips on May 4, 2009.

The release in its entirety is given below:

"Earlier this week, in connnection with my operational responsibility for the Prison, Superintendent Conrad Gumbs reported to me that one prisoner, Abraham Harrigan, had suffered a serious deterioration in his health. His medical needs, the strain on the prison staff of coping with them, and the implications for the good order of the prison, led the Superintendent to recommend that I should take action to remove Mr Harrigan from the prison.

 The Constitution gives me powers, at my discretion, to take a number of steps with respect to any prisoner - to issue a pardon, to grant a respite to a prison sentence, to substitute a lesser sentence, or to remit a prison sentence in whole or part. In this case, as in the past, I have exercised  these powers with great circumspection and caution,  having considered the circumstances.

 I immediately ruled out a pardon - Mr Harrigan was convicted of a terrible crime by an Anguillian jury and sentenced to life imprisonment by a judge. For similar reasons I ruled out commuting the sentence or remitting it in any way. But I also recognised the need for Mr Harrigan to be given the medical treatment he needs.

I accordingly decided to exercise my power under Section 76 (b) of the Constitution to grant Mr Harrigan a temporary respite to enable him to receive treatment, and to enable an independent medical expert to assess his condition and report to me. Initially the respite is envisaged to last 30 days but can be revoked at any time and the assessment of his medical condition will inform my further decisions about him. His temporary release is on strict conditions; and of course if his medical condition were to improve - against current expectations - he could be returned to prison.

I consulted widely about this decision, although the ultimate responsibility is mine alone - this is not a decision for the "Governor in Council". I assured myself that Mr Harrigan, as a man of over 80 in very poor health, constituted no threat to society.  Many of those I consulted agreed with the approach I proposed to take. But others, whose opinions I respect, made a clear case in the contrary sense - life should mean life in all circumstances whatever the prisoner's state of health. In the end I chose the course of action I did and take full responsibility for it - the operational needs of the prison and its staff and the humanitarian issues outweighed the  contrary arguments. Nor did I overlook the point that outside prison Mr Harrigan will have to take care of his own medical bills whereas in prison he would be a charge, possibly quite a significant one, on the Government's resources.

I will continue to monitor Mr Harrigan's progress and will make further decisions about him based on the points I have made above."