A guard stands by at one of the prisons in South Sudan

A death row prisoner has been set free after his family and the family of a man he killed reconciled recently.

The High Court in Juba yesterday released Mr. James Pitia 28, who was sentenced to death for killing a man identified as Hakim on the 4th of July 2010.

Mr. Pitia had spent 10 years inside Juba Central Prison.

Godfrey Victor Bula is the executive director for Justice and Human Rights Observatory Advocates.

He told Eye Radio that the two families reconciled and agreed for compensation, allowing the presiding Judge Angoli Kuach to set Pitia free.

“He was actually arrested on the 4th July 2010 and convicted to death on the 8th November 2011 and then on the 4th March 2020 the chain was removed from legs, then on 5th March 2020, he was discharged.

“The court has asked for the relatives about their decision whether he shall be convicted to death or they would reconcile. So they inform the court that they have reconciled and we are the lawyers.”

“We did the procedures of the court until today he is out. So he was convicted under section 48, 6, 0 of the panel court of South Sudan.”