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| Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa |
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ZAMBIA. PRESIDENT COMMUTES DEATH SENTENCES OF 12 CONVICTS
November 29, 2005: Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa commuted death sentences handed down on 12 criminals convicted for violent crimes including murder, commissioner of prisons Jethro Mumbuwa announced.
"The president has commuted the death sentences of 12 prisoners to life imprisonment or lower sentences," Mumbuwa said in a statement.
Those pardoned were convicted for murder or aggravated robberies, crimes which carried the death penalty in Zambia.
Mwanawasa, who was mandated by law to sign the death warrants, refused to do so saying he was against death penalty.
The Zambian president is constitutionally allowed to forgive or commute sentences of prisoners who have been found guilty by the Supreme Court after appeal. (Sources: Agence France Presse, 29/11/2005)
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