Plans to change the law so foreign prisoners do not end up serving more time than locals have been welcomed by a lawyer representing one campaigner.

Minister of Home Affairs David Burch revealed this week that foreign prisoners are likely to face shorter sentences to make up for the fact they are not entitled to parole like Bermudians. Sen. Burch noted that the majority of prisoners are behind bars for importing drugs, and their prison terms must remain long enough to serve as a punishment and deterrent.

The issue hit the headlines recently due to British prisoner Martin Cashman taking Government to court over the fact he's been denied parole.

Cashman, who is serving an 11-year jail term for heroin importation, wants the same rights as Bermudians who can be considered for release after serving a third of their sentence.

He lost his case at the Supreme Court in July but his lawyer Eugene Johnson is soon to ask for it to be reconsidered on constitutional grounds, arguing that Cashman's civil liberties and human rights continue to be violated. There is no arrangement in place allowing British prisoners to be paroled back to the UK, despite Bermuda being a British Overseas Territory. There is, however, a reciprocal agreement allowing Jamaican prisoners to be paroled back to their home country.

Reacting to this week's news, Mr. Eugene Johnston said: "The Government must now understand how oppressive the current parole regime is, and how damaging such an inequitable system is to criminal justice as a whole. During Cashman's application for judicial review, two solutions to the problems presented by the current parole system were canvassed.

"The first solution saw the Government allowing foreign inmates to be released on licence in Bermuda. Of course to make this a practical reality, the Government would have needed to provide a means for foreign inmates to work and live here when they were released. The second solution was to release foreign inmates after serving half their sentence, or some other appropriate portion of their sentence. Somebody was paying attention to the discussions in Cashman's case because the Government seems to be looking to implement some variant of the second of the solutions proposed."

Mr. Johnston added: "It is obvious that Cashman will not benefit from any changes implemented by the Government now. He is due to be released in February 2011. But he has always maintained that one of the reasons why he decided to challenge the current parole regime was to make it fairer for all. Cashman's case demonstrates a simple truth, that making reasonable, principled challenges to Government decisions and policies assist in ensuring that society functions appropriately."

Cashman a former London taxi driver has been granted legal aid for his constitutional challenge, which is due to be heard soon, according to his lawyer. "Hopefully, the issues canvassed there will assist the Government in implementing their promised changes, and it may pave the way to better understanding of the range of issues in this very complex area," he said.

Cashman's sister Karon Goldman, from London, said: "I have no faith in what they say. In any case, my brother has nearly served all of his sentence.

"If they want to reduce a prisoner's sentence then my brother should be made an example of and released immediately or at least in time for Christmas."