The Ghanaian presidency has announced the pardon of 998 inmates, including 787 first-time offenders and 33 on medical grounds. Additionally, President John Mahama commuted the sentences of 87 death row prisoners to life imprisonment. This move aims to alleviate prison overcrowding, which had reached 14,044 inmates as of August.
The decision follows a recommendation from the Prisons Service Council, which initially sought to pardon 1,014 individuals. Ghana also introduced a parole system allowing eligible inmates to be released conditionally, a reform praised by the UNODC as a positive step for the justice system.
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