In honor of a visit from Pope Francis next week, Cuba will show generosity of spirit by releasing 3,500 prisoners from jail, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The release will take place over three days, and it isn't the first time Cuba has done something like this. The country let prisoners free when Pope John Paul II visited in 1998 and Pope Benedict came for a visit in 2012. None of the released prisoners committed crimes against state security, nor stole and butchered cattle or horses. Livestock theft is a very serious criminal offense in Cuba.
A mix of women, young offenders under 20, elderly offenders over 60, ill prisoners and foreign prisoners are among those who will be released. People who have been convicted of murder and abuse crimes will not be released, according to The New York Times.
"It's a gift to Pope Francis - a grand gesture," said Elizardo Sanchez, president of the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation. Critics point out that Cuban prisons are overcrowded anyway, an ongoing problem in the country.
Pope Francis will be in the country from Sept. 19 to 22. It is expected that he will meet with Fidel Castro, former leader of Cuba, during the visit. The pope is said to be behind the thawing relations between the U.S. and Cuba, working as an active participant in secret diplomatic meetings between the two countries, according to the BBC.
