By Spendilove Incoom
President John Dramani Mahama has granted amnesty to 998 prisoners nationwide, following recommendations from the Prisons Service Council and the Council of State, in line with Article 72(1) of the 1992 Constitution.
According to a statement issued by Felix Kwakye Ofosu, spokesperson to the president and minister for government communications, a total of 1,014 inmates were considered, out of which 998 were approved for release.
The beneficiaries include 787 first-time offenders, 87 death-row inmates whose sentences will be commuted to life imprisonment, and 51 prisoners serving life sentences whose terms will be reduced to 20 years.
The amnesty also covers 33 seriously ill inmates, 36 convicts over the age of 70, two nursing mothers, and two prisoners released on compassionate grounds.
The presidency said the move aims to decongest Ghana’s overcrowded prisons and give deserving prisoners a second chance at reintegration into society.
