HC Deb 20 June 1956 vol 554 cc97-8W
52. Mr. Fenner Brockway

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the maximum period for which juveniles may he sentenced to solitary confinement in the prisons of Kenya.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd

The maximum period is sixteen days, of which no more than seven days can be served continuously; an interval of seven days must elapse before a further period of the sentence is served.

56. Mr. Fenner Brockway

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the minimum age at which a person sentenced to detention during the Governor's pleasure can be placed in prison in Kenya; what ages were given in the court records in the cases of 12795/J, admitted to Kamite Prison on 20th August, 1954, and of 7966/J, admitted on 12th June, 1954; and whether entries in the prison records, stating them to be 12 years of age, were subsequently altered.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd

Subject to provisions in the penal code regarding the age at which a person can be held to be criminally responsible, which govern the minimum age at which persons can be convicted, there is no minimum age for the detention in prison of persons sentenced to be detained during the Governor's pleasure. The place and conditions of such detention are determined after all the circumstances of each case, including age, have been taken into account.

The ages attributed to these prisoners in the proceedings of the courts, which convicted them on capital charges and sentenced them to be detained during the Governor's pleasure, were "under 18" and "about 12½" respectively. The prison records showed the age as 12 in both cases and there were no subsequent alterations.

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