Ghana votes to abolish death penalty
By Faida Idris
Kanempress
26th July 2023
Ghana has voted to abolish the death penalty, joining other African countries in recent years.
Other countries include Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone and Zambia.
Ghana is the 29th African country to abolish the death penalty, and the 124th globally.
The last execution which took place in Ghana was in 1993.
Execution used to be the mandatory sentence for murder in Ghana.
There are currently about 170 men and six women on death row, in Ghana whose sentences will be replaced by life imprisonment.
Opinion by Ghanaians show
majority approve abolition.
Seven people were in 2022 sentenced to death but none was executed.
Treason has also been punishable by death in Ghana.
The bill to amend the Criminal Offences Act was presented by a member of Parliament, Francis-Xavier Sosu and supported by the parliament’s Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs.
