🔓 Lifelong prisoner released for the third time

Philip Glennon Ebanks, a 59-year-old man who was serving a life sentence for a murder committed at the age of 17, has been released on parole for the third time. Ebanks was first paroled in 2013 after serving 24 years in prison, but was returned to jail in 2016 following two burglary offences. He was released again in 2019, but reoffended within the year and was sent back to prison. He has now served more than four years for a home invasion conviction in 2019.🔗

Last year, Ebanks applied for parole again, which was granted by Justice Richard Williams. The decision was largely influenced by what the court identified as a stronger support network for Ebanks upon his release. Justice Williams warned Ebanks that this was his last chance and that he could be returned to custody if he committed any further offences. The conditions of his release include electronic monitoring, mandatory drug testing, and the provision of a structured environment under the care of probation services to aid his continued rehabilitation.🏛️

Ebanks has spent most of his life in prison, having been institutionalized since his early twenties. He was convicted of murdering Una Yates, known as “Miss Che-Che”, during a robbery at a West Bay grocery in 1982. As he was a juvenile at the time of the murder, his case has been under the control of the court rather than the governor’s office. His first release on parole came after serving more than double the 11-year sentence recommended by the courts at the time, given his age.👮‍♂️