Justice Wilson Masalu Musene of the High Court in Kampala is today set to start hearing mitigation by 30 death row inmates who are seeking to have their sentences reduced.
The convicts, also beneficiaries of the 2003 Constitutional petition of Susan Kigula & 417 others challenged the death penalty and are represented by Justice Centers Uganda (JCU) through its Prison Decongestion Program.
The Supreme Court, also highest court in the land recently ruled that it was wrong to sentence someone to death without hearing their side (Mitigation), and ordered the return of all pending death row appeal cases to the High Court for only mitigation of sentence.
Many death row convicts have in the past been released due to their long stay in prison while others had their sentences reduced to life imprisonment.
However, death row inmates whose sentences were already confirmed by the Supreme Court must be executed within three years and if not, the death sentence be deemed converted to imprisonment for life without remission – which is 20 years.
