The Ashanti Regional Head of Public Relations for Prison Service, Chief Superintendent Richard Bukari, has commended President John Dramani Mahama for granting amnesty to 998 prisoners.
Speaking on Ghanakoma morning show on Akoma 87.9FM in Kumasi with Sir John, Chief Superintendent Bukari, said the pardon on the 998 prisoners is the right move for a country that seeks to promote the human rights conditions of its citizens.
He stated that, “998 prisoners were asked to go home by the President.”
The category of people who benefited from the President’s pardon included first time offenders, seriously ill, convicts on death row commutes to life imprisonment, inmates serving life sentence and very old prisoners in their 70s.
This gesture by the President, he said, is in line with the fulfillment of Article 72(1) of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution to help decongest the Prisons.
He also urged the President to extend his pardon to the pre-trial detainees.
Supt. Bukari disclosed that the Ashanti Regional Prison Service submitted 100 names for the pardon and was sure all scaled through. The exercise according to him will help reduce the number of inmates in the region.
The exercise is useful. It will help in our health system and also decongestion process.
He appealed to beneficiaries to be useful to the society since they have gone through reformation process.
President Mahama grants amnesty to 998 prisoners across Ghana
By Benjamin Aidoo
