As a humanitarian matter, the issue of ill inmates should be tackled as part of the reconciliation process. However, the strange thing is that despite the government's commitment to resolve it, the problem hasn't been solved for the past two years. But why? Let's first underline the fact that until 2013, there was no Turkish law allowing the suspension of sentences for convicted people who were sick. It was in the president's discretion to release or reduce the sentences of such seriously ill inmates by utilizing his power to grant amnesty. The president still has this authority.The president can use this authority for a limited number of prisoners. His power entails a pardon, not a suspension of the sentence. There is no going back on a pardon. The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government introduced a new law in January 2013. It added the sixth passage to the 16th article of the Penal Code. According to the passage, the sentences of seriously ill or impaired inmates, who cannot survive alone in prison conditions and do not pose a risk to public safety, can be suspended until they are well. This passage allows the postponement of the sentence; it is not a blanket pardon. This power was supposed to be in the discretion of the prosecutors, or if appealed judges, in accordance with the report issued by the forensic medicine department. Despite this new law, the matter is yet to be resolved. Unfortunately, the part of the passage that required the inmate not to pose public risk was interpreted too broadly.In response, the government passed a new amendment on June 2014 to exclude only those inmates who posed serious risk to public safety from benefitting from the law. But this didn't resolve the matter either. Reports issued by forensic departments were often unfavorable to the inmates. The few reports that were favorable came against unjust interpretations made by judges and prosecutors. Seriously ill inmates continued to languish in prisons. One must also note that the operatives of the Gülen Movement, which is opposed to any progress made in the reconciliation process, were also involved in the failure of these laws.The matter does not involve a few people. According to figures as of the end of 2014, there are 400 seriously sick inmates in prisons. The Justice Ministry has been working to resolve the matter since last autumn. The Penal Code is once again being changed. The aim is to overcome the obstacles with a few amendments, which will soon be introduced to Parliament. The new amendments will circumvent forensic departments and allow Health Ministry hospitals to issue the necessary reports. The amendments will also include a list of diseases, any of which will allow the inmate to be released until he or she is diagnosed of having the disease.The new changes will also overcome the opposition by "old state" and Gülenist officials within the judiciary by redefining the "poses serious risk to public safety" portion of the law in a more democratic and humanitarian way, ending archaic interpretations based on the social and family ties of the inmate. As you can see, the government's commitment to resolve a matter and pass laws does not necessarily mean the matter is solved. The bureaucracy in Turkey is still too strong and can sabotage all efforts if it puts its mind to it. The opposition and nongovernmental organizations are ignoring this matter, strengthening this rigid bureaucratic structure.