The woman convicted of kidnapping Zephany Nurse and raising her as her own child is being released on parole next month.
The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) confirmed that the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board decided to release Lavona Solomon on parole on August 18.
According to a Cape Times report, DCS spokesperson, Candice van Reenen, said: “The current period until the placement date will be utilised for the pre-release programmes.
“Thereafter, Lavona Solomon will be admitted into the system of Community Corrections and serve the remainder of the sentence until its expiry in 2026.
“Solomon was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment for kidnapping baby Zephany Nurse, who was just three days old at the time, in April 1997.
“Generally, the decisions of the parole board are influenced by a number of factors, including the offender’s response to development and treatment programmes associated with rehabilitation; the existence of support systems in the community; the probability of re-offending and the risk the offender may pose to the community or the complainant/victims,” said Van Reenen.
Solomon had changed Zephany’s name to Miché Solomon.
The young woman was discovered by her biological family in 2015 when her sister started high school at the same school as her.
Parole expert, Julian Knight, says at some point, every prisoner qualifies for consideration of parole, and that has nothing to do with public opinion.
He says Lavona would have been eligible for parole after serving a third of her sentence.
“A person must be reintroduced into society as a reformed person and that's the whole point of imprisonment, it's like disciplining or grounding a child, where the liberties are taken away and not the rights.
“She can’t undo the damage done to the family and the child, but she has served the required time to be eligible for parole.
“This is the only mother whom the child in question knew, who did not abuse her and treated her like her own, that doesn’t pardon her actions in any way but she has served her time.
“We get to a point where we have to move on, I don't see why Solomon shouldn’t be granted parole.”
In addition, he says, a psychologist report is also done and Lavona might have been a model prisoner.
“Public opinion in the eyes of justice is irrelevant, the law does not change and we must uphold the law, at all times,” he concludes.