No More Death Penalty In Ghana’s Laws

Ghana’s Parliament on Tuesday July 25, 2023 has passed the Criminal Offences (Amendment) Bill 2022, which expunges death penalty from Ghana’s criminal justice system.

By the passage of the Bill, the President will be empowered to commute death penalty into life imprisonment and no offender will suffer punishment by death.

The death penalty has been in Ghana’s Criminal Offences Code but has not been signed by any President in the Fourth Republic.

Most human rights advocates had called for the expunction of the death penalty from the laws of the country’s laws.

Deputy Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who is also a lawyer, was happy with the “feat”, asking the country to celebrate such gesture.

“We have had a death penalty in our statute books for well over 50 years. It has been a concern. I’m happy to say that we have by this amendment of the parent act been able to repeal that provision that deals with the death penalty. So simply put, the death penalty is no more a punishment in our statutes,” he stated.

The Effutu Member of Parliament added: “What we are saying is that God gives us life and under no circumstances should a person’s life be taken merely because of committing such an offence. That is not to say that those who take it upon themselves to take the lives of others are being encouraged to do so.”