Like in the U.S., those sentenced to death in Ghana “tend to be vulnerable individuals from deprived backgrounds, who have often experienced deep personal trauma,” Mr. But because the death penalty was the mandatory sentence for murder, courts have continued to impose new death sentences, including seven last year. Ghana has not executed anyone since 1993. Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo, who called on lawmakers last fall to remove the death penalty from the country’s penal code, must now sign the bill into law. “Abolishing the death penalty shows that we are determined as a society not to be inhumane, uncivil, closed, retrogressive and dark…and reflects our common belief that the sanctity of life is inviolable,” he said in a statement. Sosu said, telling Reuters that opinion polls show a majority of Ghanaians support abolition. “This is a great advancement of the human rights record of Ghana,” Mr. Ghana’s parliament voted Tuesday to remove the death penalty as punishment for crimes including murder, making it the 29th country in Africa to join the global trend towards abolition of capital punishment.įrancis-Xavier Kojo Sosu introduced the bill, which amends the Criminal Offenses Act to replace the death penalty-usually carried out by hanging or firing squad-with life imprisonment for murder, genocide, piracy and smuggling of gold and diamonds, and attempted murder in prison.
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