Presdent Mugabe empties his prisons because he can’t pay for them

Drastic times call for drastic measures

Zimbabwe's economy is plunging toward total ruin and the government is looking for ways to stanch the bleeding it has inflicted on itself. In May, the government announced that it would be selling wildlife from its game reserves and even printing its own version of the U.S. dollar amid a desperate cash shortage.

his week, a government gazette issued by the country's nonagenarian dictator, Robert Mugabe, gave a blanket pardon to thousands of prisoners. The pardon extends to all women who are not on death row or serving life sentences so even women who have been booked for murder but are serving shorter sentences will be released.

It also includes all male prisoners under 18, regardless of their crime; prisoners over 60 who have completed two-thirds of their sentence; and prisoners who are terminally ill.