Africa Business Radio

Sierra Leone has formally abolished the death penalty after President Julius Maada Bio signed into law a new measure outlawing capital punishment that was agreed by MPs in July.The president says as a nation, they have exorcised horrors of a cruel past while affirming their belief in the sanctity of life.Rights group Amnesty International says that last year 39 death sentences were handed down.Amnesty says Death sentences have often been commuted, but by the end of last year, 94 people were still on death row.