Amnesty International, a global human rights organization, has hailed Ghana’s Parliament for passing an amendment to the Criminal and Other Offences Act, 1960, as a significant step forward.

Tuesday, July 25, saw the third reading of the Amendment Bill, which Madina Member of Parliament (MP) Francis-Xavier Sosu sponsored.

Samira Daoud, the West and Central Africa Director for Amnesty International, commented on the Ghanaian Parliament’s vote, calling it a significant step towards Ghana’s abolition of the death sentence.

“It is also a victory for all those who have tirelessly campaigned to consign this cruel punishment to history and strengthen the protection of the right to life.”
Samira Daoud

To pass the bill into law, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is anticipated to give his assent. Despite being under Ghana’s laws, no President of the Fourth Republic has ratified the death penalty.

Samira Daoud emphasized that changing the Constitution, which still makes high treason punishable by the death penalty, is necessary to completely abolish this draconian penalty.

“Now that the 2022 Criminal Offences (Amendment) Bill and 2022-Armed Forces (Amendment) Bill have been passed by Parliament, President Nana Akufo-Addo should without delay, sign them into law, commute all death sentences to prison terms, and establish an official moratorium on executions.”
Samira Daoud

Additionally, the international organization for human rights urged officials to take action to get the death sentence removed from the Constitution. The death sentence, according to the statement, violates the right to life as guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in all circumstances.

“The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment which has no place in our world,” it emphasized.

Jirapa MP Dissatisfied With Repeal Of Death Penalty

Cletus Seidu Dapilah, a Jirapa Member of Parliament (MP), voiced his anger over the official abolition of the death sentence from Ghana’s laws.

Even though no President has authorized the execution of those on death row since the Fourth Republic, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP claimed that the existence of such a statute functioned as a deterrent to others.

He believed that Presidents who refused to approve the execution of convicted murderers, should have been forced to carry out their constitutional duties.

Mr. Dapilah stressed that the law’s inclusion in the state’s legislation came at no expense to the state.

“I’m not happy. It should have remained and the reason for the proponents of the abolishing of the death penalty is that no President since the Fourth Republic has signed for anyone to be executed. And that is why we should have stood up to any President; that if you know you can’t do your work, which you have sworn an oath and if somebody is being sentenced by death, you are supposed to sign and must sign.
“I can tell you that the law being on our books does not cost anything. It doesn’t eat anything. I can tell you it deters people and now we have lost that deterrence and we shouldn’t be surprised we see people killing others anyhow, knowing that they will be in prison for life and the government will feed me.”
Cletus Seidu Dapilah

Following the approval of an amendment to the Criminal and Other Offenses Act by Parliament, the death sentence has been legally abolished in Ghana’s legal system.

The amended bill was passed on Tuesday, July 25, and is awaiting the President’s signature. However, numerous MPs have voiced a variety of perspectives on the subject in the wake of the repeal. While some strongly oppose the repeal, others have shown their support for it.