Capital punishment in Ghana
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Ghana only for high treason. Ghana last executed a criminal in 1993.[1] It is considered "abolitionist in practice."[2] Capital punishment was a mandatory sentence for certain ordinary criminal offenses until 2023.[3]
Seven new death sentences were handed down in 2021, while 165 people were on death row in Ghana at the end of 2021.[4]
On 25 July 2023, the Parliament of Ghana voted to legally abolish capital punishment for ordinary offences. Capital punishment remains a prescribed penalty under the constitution for high treason. The country's legal code was amended to replace capital punishment with life imprisonment. The legislation was tabled by Francis-Xavier Kojo Sosu, who described it as a "great advancement of the human rights record of Ghana."[5]
The abolition of the death penalty in Ghana is not retroactive; as of August 2023 death sentences continued to be handed down for crimes committed before the abolition went into effect.[6]
References[edit]
- ^ "Abolitionist and retentionist countries (as of July 2018)". Amnesty International. 23 October 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
- ^ "Abolitionist and retentionist countries (as of July 2018)". Amnesty International. 23 October 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
- ^ "Ghana and the Death Penalty". Parliamentarians for Global Action. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
- ^ "Death sentences and executions 2021". Amnesty International. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
- ^ Adombila, Maxwell Akalaare; Akorlie, Christian (2023-07-25). "Ghana parliament votes to abolish the death penalty". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
- ^ "Father sentenced to death for offering son as sacrifice". Ghana Business News. 2023-08-11. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
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