Sierra Leone abolishes ‘dastardly’ death penalty

Sierra Leone’s President, Julius Maada Bio, announces the abolition of the death penalty during a ceremony in Freetown after lawmakers approved the bill to abolish the capital punishment in July. Sierra Leone, which is still recovering after decades of civil war, had frequently come under fire from rights groups for keeping capital punishment on the books. Ninety-four people were living under a death sentence at the end of 2020, according to deputy minister of justice Umaru Napoleon Koroma.