The parole process in South Africa is purely an administrative function designed to adhere to policies, legislative requirements and meeting targets. It is not a behavioural function conducted by professionals - which it should be.

Listen to this article 12 min Listen to this article 12 min This is the story of inmate 97714821: Albertus Kleynhans. He is serving a life sentence for murder. This article serves to highlight the plight of indigent inmates who may have been wrongfully convicted and the difficulty they face in trying to access justice in South Africa.

Kleynhans is 50 years old and has served 27 years for a murder he (and his co-accused) insists he did not commit. He remains incarcerated. The two co-accused who did commit the murder are on parole.

It is time to shine a spotlight on South Africa's parole/release system which is deeply flawed and too often arbitrary. Periodically, we get smacked by another appalling release decision by either a parole board, the National Council of Correctional Services (NCCS)/Minister of Justice and Correctional Services (in the case of lifers), or the courts - in the case of Section 286 (a) of the Criminal Procedure Act that deals with inmates who have been declared dangerous offenders.

This was graphically illustrated a few weeks ago with a parole board's decision to grant parole to former Claremont policeman Marius van der Westhuizen, despite the findings of...