President John Mahama has granted amnesty to 787 first-time offenders, the largest group of beneficiaries in the latest presidential pardon exercise.

The amnesty, announced on Monday, August 18, follows the recommendation of the Prisons Service Council and consultations with the Council of State, in line with Article 72(1) of the 1992 Constitution.

In total, 998 prisoners were freed or had their sentences reduced.

According to a statement signed by Felix Kwakye Ofosu, Minister of Government Communications and Spokesperson to the President, the amnesty also covered 87 death row inmates whose sentences were commuted to life imprisonment, 51 life sentences reduced to 20 years, 33 seriously ill prisoners, 36 inmates over 70 years, two nursing mothers, and two prisoners granted freedom through petitions.