Free old individual facing charge (9)
I believe the answer is:
exonerate
'free' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'old individual facing charge' is the wordplay.
'old' becomes 'ex' (prefix meaning former or onetime).
'individual' becomes 'one' (an individual is one person).
'facing' says to put letters next to each other.
'charge' becomes 'rate' (rate is a kind of charge).
'ex'+'one'+'rate'='EXONERATE'
(Other definitions for exonerate that I've seen before include "Declare to be free from blame" , "Acquit" , "free of charge" , "Release" , "Excuse" .)