92-year-old man among pardoned prisoners

President John Mahama has pardoned 900 prisoners, including a 92-year-old man, as Ghana celebrates Republic Day on July 1.
The liberated detainees include 883 first offenders who have demonstrated good conduct and have served half or more of their sentences. It also includes 14 detainees on death row who have served no less than 10 years, an announcement from the Interior Ministry declared.
The detainees who got the presidential pardon include one detainee who is sick and another who is serving life imprisonment and has served 10 years and has had his sentence reduced to a term of 20 years.
The presidential pardon was granted taking into account illness, age and good conduct, the announcement said.
President Mahama tasked those released to be of good conduct and encouraged the public to embrace them.
Reprieve is normally granted on important occasions, for example, Independence Day or Republic Day.
In 2013, 900 prisoners received a presidential exoneration. Last year, the President pardoned 1,104 prisoners on Republic Day.
Ghana will on Wednesday, July 1 mark 55 years as a Republic.