Governor Kenneth Mapp is currently reviewing pardon requests as his days in office wind down. Mr. Mapp, The Consortium has learned, has been reviewing about 100 pardon requests, and is expected to grant some.
Granting pardons during a governor’s last days in office is nothing new; former Governor John P. de Jongh pardoned 16 individuals at the end of this tenure, including one individual with a murder record.
Of the 16 who received pardons from Mr. de Jongh, 10 were residents of St. Thomas, while the others were spread between St. Croix, persons living on the mainland, and a few who were born on neighboring islands, including a native of St. Kitts.
The one pardon that released a criminal of his second-degree murder record was granted to Avery Lans, born on July 28, 1967. According to the document, Mr. Lans was sentenced in 1989 and after serving 25 years in prison, was released in 2009.
Providing his reasons for granting the pardon, de Jongh wrote: “Taking together the facts and circumstances of the underlying conduct of the offense charged, and the fact that Avery Lans has no criminal history since the commission of the subject crime, the issuance of a pardon is warranted.”
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