Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa

ZAMBIA. PRESIDENT COMMUTES DEATH SENTENCES OF 97 PRISONERS

August 2, 2007: Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa has commuted to life imprisonment the death sentences of 97 prisoners who were on death row, according to a statement released in Lusaka.
Mwanawasa has also released 823 prisoners serving various sentences for various offences across the country. The prisoners are being released on condition that they do not commit similar offences in the time until their sentence would have expired.
If they should commit such an offence, they will be returned to jail to complete the sentence. Mwanawasa said in the statement that he has been concerned about the congestion and the bad state of detention facilities in the country. He said his government is actively considering ways of making conditions of detention in prisons humane and bearable.
Mwanawasa said the commutation is without prejudice to the right of the prisoners to appeal for further clemency. The president further said the government will continue reviewing cases with the view of recommending them for presidential pardon as a way of decongesting detention facilities in the country. (Sources: People’s Daily Online, 03/08/2007)