Ghana is one of the few countries in Africa that still retains the death penalty as a form of punishment for certain crimes. However, this practice is outdated, inhumane and ineffective. We will argue that Ghana must completely abolish the death penalty and adopt alternative measures to ensure justice and deterrence.
First, the death penalty violates the right to life, which is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The death penalty is irreversible and carries the risk of executing innocent people.
According to Amnesty International, at least 174 people have been exonerated from death row in the United States since 1973. How many more innocent lives have been lost in countries that lack adequate legal safeguards and transparency?
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Second, the death penalty does not deter crime more than other forms of punishment. There is no conclusive evidence that the death penalty has any unique deterrent effect on crime. In fact, some studies have shown that the death penalty may actually increase the incidence of violent crimes by creating a culture of violence and devaluing human life. Moreover, the death penalty is often applied in a discriminatory and arbitrary manner, targeting the poor, the marginalized and the minorities.
Third, the death penalty is costly and wasteful. The death penalty imposes a huge financial burden on the state and the taxpayers, as it requires more resources for trials, appeals and security than other forms of punishment. The money spent on the death penalty could be better used for improving the criminal justice system, providing rehabilitation and reintegration programs for offenders, and supporting the victims and their families.
Therefore, I urge the government of Ghana to heed the call of Xavier Sosu, a human rights lawyer and a member of parliament, who has recently filed a private member’s bill to abolish the death penalty in Ghana.
This bill is supported by various civil society organizations, religious groups and international bodies. Abolishing the death penalty would be a progressive step for Ghana to uphold its human rights obligations, enhance its democratic credentials and join the global trend towards abolition.
The impact of abolishing the death penalty in Ghana
Ghana has recently joined the growing list of African countries that have abolished the death penalty for most crimes, a move that has been welcomed by human rights activists and advocates.
On 25 July 2023, Ghana’s Parliament voted to amend the country’s Criminal and Other Offences Act, 1960 and the Armed Forces Act, 1962, removing the use of capital punishment for crimes such as murder, genocide, piracy and smuggling. The only exception is for acts of high treason, which still carry the death penalty under the Constitution.
This decision is a major step forward for Ghana, which has not carried out an execution since 1993, but has continued to impose death sentences on its citizens. According to Amnesty International, seven new death sentences were handed down in Ghana in 2022, bringing the total number of people facing the death penalty in the country to 172 by the end of the year, including six women. These people are now likely to have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment once the President signs the bills into law.
The abolition of the death penalty in Ghana reflects the global trend towards ending this cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, which violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As of today, 124 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes, and 41 others are considered abolitionist in practice as they have not carried out executions for more than 10 years.
In Africa, Ghana is the 29th country to abolish the death penalty for all or most crimes, following recent examples such as Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea and Zambia.
The abolition of the death penalty in Ghana also shows that the country is committed to upholding human rights and respecting the dignity of its people. The death penalty is an unfair and discriminatory punishment that disproportionately affects vulnerable individuals from deprived backgrounds, who often lack access to adequate legal representation and fair trials. The death penalty also does not bring justice or closure to the victims of crime or their families, nor does it deter offenders from committing crimes.
The decision to abolish the death penalty in Ghana was initiated by Hon. Francis Xavier Sosu, a member of Parliament and a human rights lawyer, who introduced two bills to amend the relevant laws in June 2021.
He was supported by civil society organizations such as The Death Penalty Project and Amnesty International Ghana, who provided legal and technical assistance and campaigned for public awareness and support. He was also backed by President Nana Akufo-Addo, who expressed his willingness to remove the death penalty from the statute books in November 2022.
However, the abolition of the death penalty in Ghana is not complete yet. The Constitution still provides for high treason to be punishable by death, and this provision needs to be revised in order to achieve total abolition. Moreover, Ghana needs to establish an official moratorium on executions, commute all existing death sentences to prison terms, and ratify international treaties that prohibit the use of the death penalty, such as the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The abolition of the death penalty in Ghana is a historic achievement that deserves recognition and celebration. It is also an opportunity for Ghana to continue its progress towards becoming a human rights champion in Africa and beyond. As Samira Daoud, Amnesty International’s West and Central Africa Director, said: “Today’s parliamentary vote is a major step by Ghana towards the abolition of the death penalty. 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.”