81 year old prisoner Agnes Dziwornu has served 25 years of her prison sentence for a crime that she claims she is innocent of.
Dziwornu narrates that she was accused of kidnapping a child who is a relative of her husband. She confessed that she snatched the man from a neighbor. She denied that she had a hand in the boy’s disappearance because she was not home when the incident happened.
“When I came back from the market one day, I heard a child had gone missing in my husband’s house. I lived in my father’s house but they accused me that I was involved. I don’t know the missing child.” She told crimecheckghana.
Ms. Dziwornu said efforts to get her sentence appealed have been unsuccessful as her dockets could not be traced. She pleaded with government and well-meaning Ghanaians to help her appeal her sentence as her health is fast deteriorating.
“When I came to Prison, I was 56 years old. I am now 81 years old. My sight has been damaged and I have been advised to get lens to protect my eyes but I can’t afford it. I am pleading with Ghanaians to support me. It has been a challenge to appeal my sentence because anytime I go to court, my docket could not be found. I am weak and feeble so I am pleading with the government to have mercy on me and help me. I am innocent.” She cried.
The old woman prisoner said her imprisonment has led her family including her children to abandon her. She said none of them have visited her since she was sentenced.
Crime Check Foundation, CCF, has paid the fines of 611 petty offenders leading to their release. CCF urges the public to support its petty offenders project to enable it facilitate the release of more of such persons to help decongest the prisons.
