The story of a 60-yr-old prisoner who has served 30 years instead of 20

He was condemned to death at the Nsawam Medium Security Prison.

This is the story of a cocoa farmer who was convicted of murder in 1983.

“I was condemned to death in prison in 1983, brought to a life sentence in 2003, and now sentenced to 20 years in 2014,”

“I have already served 31 years and have just started to serve the 20 years sentence. I am left with 17 more years,” he said.

According to Mr. Manu, he had litigated over the boundary of his farmland with a group of neighboring farmers close in 1986.

He had bought the land to cultivate cocoa but he claims the envious farmers would not allow him because he had overextended his land.

This disagreement, he said generated several attacks on him.

Speaking to crimecheckghana.org, he said during one of the attacks, a member of the group was killed and dumped on his land.

Mr. Manu who is now confined to a wheelchair in prison said he was accused by the farmers of murdering their colleague.

He was arrested and condemned to rot in prison.

Since 2004, Mr. Manu has been paralyzed after he tripped and fell in prison.

He said he is not confident he would be able to make it through the remaining years he has to serve due to ill health.

As a human rights and crime prevention advocacy organization, Crime Check Foundation believes that due to Mr. Manu’s condition, he should be pardoned.

Amnesty International Ghana, Crime Check Foundation, and other Civil Society Organizations have been advocating for the removal of the death sentence in Ghana’s Constitution.

By Rudolph Nandi