VADODARA, June 11: Freedom to be free. Convicts serving life imprisonment in Vadodara Central Jail have taken the Pepsi ad jingle to heart. In a letter to Chief Minister Shakersinh Vaghela, the 700 prisoners have demanded that they, along with 1,800 others serving life terms across the State, be freed in the spirit of the 50th anniversary of the country's independence.

While appreciating the State government's move to release convicts other than lifers on May 1 the Gujarat Foundation Day they regretted being left out. And urged the State government to exercise powers under Article 161 of the Constitution, which authorises the Governor to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment, or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person, in their case.

The prisoners cited instances this year in which convicts, including lifers, had been released in Kerala and Punjab. In the past too, convicts have been released on special occasions, such as birth anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Ravishankar Maharaj and Independence Day.

The letter also criticises the law that stipulates that a lifer can be released only after 14 years, arguing that it is against the basic intentions of any punitive measure: reform and ultimate rehabilitation of convicts. ``Considering the average life span of 60 years, 14 years of actual imprisonment for reformation is inhumane,'' the letter says.

The convicts have asserted that the aim of punishment should not be retributive or vengeful but humane, reformative and rehabilitative. ``Crime is but a sign of a diseased mind, and imprisonment should aim primarily at training a prisoner's diseased mind and making him fit to re-enter society after release,'' they say, quoting Gandhi.

Senior jailor A B Makwana supports the lifers' demand.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.