Freeing former partner, gangster suppresses short oath (7)

I believe the answer is:

excusal

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'freeing' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are singular nouns.
Perhaps there's a link between them I don't understand?

'former partner gangster suppresses short oath' is the wordplay.
'former partner' becomes 'ex' (an ex-partner).
'gangster' becomes 'al' (Al Capone).
'suppresses' indicates putting letters inside.
'short' means to remove the last letter.
'oath' becomes 'cuss' (synonyms).
'ex'+'al'='exal'
'cuss' with its final letter removed is 'cus'.
'exal' enclosing 'cus' is 'EXCUSAL'.

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I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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