Move all those on death row to life sentence – Sosu appeals to Akufo-Addo

Member of Parliament for Madina Francis Xavier Sosu has appealed to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to move all persons who are on death row to life sentences.

This way, Ghana will show signs of good faith with the passage of the Criminal Offences (Amendment) Bill 2022, which removes the death penalty from Ghana’s laws, he said.

Parliament passed the bill on Tuesday, July 25 technically expunging the death penalty from Ghana’s laws.

By the Bill, the President will be empowered to commute the death penalty into life imprisonment.

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 an expunction of that penalty.

By the passage of the Bill, no offender will suffer punishment by death.

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.”

Speaking on the Ghana Tonight show on TV3 Tuesday, July 25, Mr Sosu who was a proponent of this bill said “we are looking forward to the president, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo assenting to the bill and then maybe take other steps. I am appealing to the president to commute all those who are currently on death row to life sentences.

“That way it shows some level of good faith with the commencement of Ghana actually and positively moving away from the death penalty regime to a regime of life sentence, a regime of pro-life, a regime of we have all agreed that we cannot condemn killing but at the same time have a state-sanctioned killing.”

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