Ghana’s laws have been amended to remove the death sentence.

Xtranewspage

The Criminal Offences (Amendment) Bill 2022 was enacted by Parliament, thus eliminating the death sentence from Ghanaian law.

The Bill gives the President the authority to commute the death penalty to life imprisonment.

On Tuesday, July 25, Parliament passed the Bill.

The death penalty has been included in Ghana’s Criminal Offences Code, although no President of the Fourth Republic has signed it.

The majority of human rights advocates have asked for the death penalty to be abolished.

With the enactment of the Bill, no perpetrator will face the death penalty.

The “feat” pleased Deputy Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who is also a lawyer, who asked the country to applaud such a gesture.

“The death penalty has been in our statute books for well over 50 years.” It has been a source of concern. I’m pleased to report that we were able to repeal the clause dealing with the death sentence through our modification to the parent statute.

Simply put, the death penalty is no longer a punishment under our laws,” he said.
“What we are saying is that God gives us life, and under no circumstances should a person’s life be taken simply because they committed such an offence,” the Effutu Member of Parliament stated. That is not to argue that individuals who choose to take the lives of others are encouraged to do so.”