![\"Govt](\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/death_penalty.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\nGovt supports death penalty abolition – President Akufo-Addo <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The government is in full\u00a0<\/span>support of the abolition of the\u00a0<\/span>death penalty, but has called for\u00a0<\/span>sensitisation on the matter for more\u00a0<\/span>Ghanaians to be educated on and\u00a0<\/span>convinced about it.<\/span><\/h2>\nAlthough in principle many\u00a0<\/span>people support the abolition of the\u00a0<\/span>death penalty, there are some who\u00a0<\/span>believe that members of terrorist\u00a0<\/span>groups who mercilessly kill innocent\u00a0<\/span>people do not deserve to be spared\u00a0<\/span>their lives when found guilty by the\u00a0<\/span>courts.<\/span><\/p>\nReceiving a delegation from the\u00a0<\/span>Ghana Chapter of Amnesty\u00a0<\/span>International (AI) to his office at the\u00a0<\/span>Jubilee House last Friday, President\u00a0<\/span>Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-<\/span>Addo intimated that given\u00a0<\/span>some of those sentiments,\u00a0<\/span>there was the need for\u00a0<\/span>education and sensitisation\u00a0<\/span>on the matter.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cA lot of people have\u00a0<\/span>come to me who, in principle, support\u00a0<\/span>the abolition of the death penalty, but\u00a0<\/span>whenever the issue of terrorism is\u00a0<\/span>raised and the mindless manner in\u00a0<\/span>which some of these terrorist groups\u00a0<\/span>operate to destroy human lives,\u00a0<\/span>operations which do not involve the\u00a0<\/span>killing of one person but the\u00a0<\/span>annihilation of villages and\u00a0<\/span>communities, people hesitate about\u00a0<\/span>supporting the abolition of the death\u00a0<\/span>penalty for such actors,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\nAdvocacy for abolition<\/strong><\/p>\nThe visit by the delegation to the\u00a0<\/span>Jubilee House formed part of AI\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>advocacy for the abolition of the\u00a0<\/span>death penalty.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>The delegation was led by the\u00a0<\/span>Chairman of the Ghana Chapter,\u00a0<\/span>Francis Nyantakyi, and made up of\u00a0<\/span>other executives, including the\u00a0<\/span>Member of Parliament for Madina,\u00a0<\/span>Francis-Xavier Kojo Sosu.<\/span><\/p>\nAbandoned<\/strong><\/p>\nPresident Akufo-Addo noted that\u00a0<\/span>in practice, Ghana had abandoned the\u00a0<\/span>use of the death penalty because\u00a0<\/span>everyone sentenced to death by the\u00a0<\/span>courts had his or her sentence\u00a0<\/span>automatically commuted to life\u00a0<\/span>imprisonment, even though his or\u00a0<\/span>her treatment as a condemned\u00a0<\/span>prisoner was some what\u00a0<\/span>differentiated.<\/span><\/p>\nHe explained that completing the\u00a0<\/span>process was hindered by\u00a0<\/span>constitutional constraints, and that it\u00a0<\/span>would involve a reform of the\u00a0<\/span>Constitution, saying that all must\u00a0<\/span>work together to attain that.<\/span><\/p>\nCommenting on the moves made\u00a0<\/span>by AI to get the death penalty\u00a0<\/span>abolished, including the Private\u00a0<\/span>Members\u2019 bills being prepared for\u00a0<\/span>Ghana\u2019s Parliament, he said the\u00a0<\/span>government supported the moves,\u00a0<\/span>but expressed surprise that the bills\u00a0<\/span>had not been given to the Attorney-<\/span>General to make inputs into them.<\/span><\/p>\nSensitisation<\/strong><\/p>\nPresident Akufo-Addo assured the\u00a0<\/span>AI delegation that regarding the\u00a0<\/span>motion pending before the UN\u00a0<\/span>General Assembly, Ghana was in full\u00a0<\/span>support of the moratorium, and that\u00a0<\/span>just as it did in 2020, Ghana would\u00a0<\/span>support the motion at the global\u00a0<\/span>forum.<\/span><\/p>\nHe said the issues of sensitisation\u00a0<\/span>and education on the abolition of the\u00a0<\/span>death penalty were very crucial\u00a0<\/span>because on those matters candour\u00a0<\/span>was important, as well as consensus-<\/span>building.<\/span><\/p>\nViews<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\nThe President said some people\u00a0<\/span>were of the view that for the lives of\u00a0<\/span>terrorists to be spared, when they\u00a0<\/span>were not prepared to spare other\u00a0<\/span>people\u2019s lives, was something many\u00a0<\/span>people found it difficult to accept. <\/span><\/p>\nHe said nevertheless, he believed\u00a0<\/span>that the principle was one that all\u00a0<\/span>should work towards in Ghana,\u00a0<\/span>noting that especially in the\u00a0<\/span>country\u2019s case when it had made a\u00a0<\/span>conscious decision not to invoke the\u00a0<\/span>death penalty, then it should do the\u00a0<\/span>logical thing and remove the death penalty from\u00a0<\/span>the statute books.<\/span><\/p>\nThe Minister of Justice and Attorney-<\/span>General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, noted that he\u00a0<\/span>had had a series of engagements with AI in the\u00a0<\/span>UK and some Ghanaian members of AI,\u00a0<\/span>including Mr Sosu.<\/span><\/p>\nHe said he was informed about the Private\u00a0<\/span>Members\u2019 Bill on the Abolition of the Death\u00a0<\/span>Penalty to be laid before Parliament and made a<\/span>re quest for it, so that his office would present it<\/span>s\u00a0<\/span>views on it, as he had done regarding the Private\u00a0<\/span>Members\u2019 Bill relating to the LGBTQI.<\/span><\/p>\nMr Dame indicated that the group was right\u00a0<\/span>that the repeal of the death penalty could only\u00a0<\/span>be in relation to murder and other offences, but\u00a0<\/span>regarding constitutional offences, they would be<\/span>affected.<\/span><\/p>\n30 Years<\/strong><\/p>\nMr Sosu noted that even though over 30 years\u00a0<\/span>no condemned prisoner in Ghana had been\u00a0<\/span>executed, such persons remained on death row\u00a0<\/span>and were treated differently because they were\u00a0<\/span>in condemned cells, a situation which he\u00a0<\/span>believed violated their rights to self-dignity and\u00a0<\/span>constituted a form of torture.<\/span><\/p>\nHe said when the private members\u2019 bills\u00a0<\/span>were passed, it would not mean the complete\u00a0<\/span>abolition of the death penalty until treason and\u00a0<\/span>high treason, as entrenched in the Constitution,\u00a0<\/span>were removed.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Receiving a delegation from the\u00a0<\/span>Ghana Chapter of Amnesty\u00a0<\/span>International (AI) to his office at the\u00a0<\/span>Jubilee House last Friday, President\u00a0<\/span>Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-<\/span>Addo intimated that given\u00a0<\/span>some of those sentiments,\u00a0<\/span>there was the need for\u00a0<\/span>education and sensitisation\u00a0<\/span>on the matter.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cA lot of people have\u00a0<\/span>come to me who, in principle, support\u00a0<\/span>the abolition of the death penalty, but\u00a0<\/span>whenever the issue of terrorism is\u00a0<\/span>raised and the mindless manner in\u00a0<\/span>which some of these terrorist groups\u00a0<\/span>operate to destroy human lives,\u00a0<\/span>operations which do not involve the\u00a0<\/span>killing of one person but the\u00a0<\/span>annihilation of villages and\u00a0<\/span>communities, people hesitate about\u00a0<\/span>supporting the abolition of the death\u00a0<\/span>penalty for such actors,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n Advocacy for abolition<\/strong><\/p>\n The visit by the delegation to the\u00a0<\/span>Jubilee House formed part of AI\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>advocacy for the abolition of the\u00a0<\/span>death penalty.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>The delegation was led by the\u00a0<\/span>Chairman of the Ghana Chapter,\u00a0<\/span>Francis Nyantakyi, and made up of\u00a0<\/span>other executives, including the\u00a0<\/span>Member of Parliament for Madina,\u00a0<\/span>Francis-Xavier Kojo Sosu.<\/span><\/p>\n Abandoned<\/strong><\/p>\n President Akufo-Addo noted that\u00a0<\/span>in practice, Ghana had abandoned the\u00a0<\/span>use of the death penalty because\u00a0<\/span>everyone sentenced to death by the\u00a0<\/span>courts had his or her sentence\u00a0<\/span>automatically commuted to life\u00a0<\/span>imprisonment, even though his or\u00a0<\/span>her treatment as a condemned\u00a0<\/span>prisoner was some what\u00a0<\/span>differentiated.<\/span><\/p>\n He explained that completing the\u00a0<\/span>process was hindered by\u00a0<\/span>constitutional constraints, and that it\u00a0<\/span>would involve a reform of the\u00a0<\/span>Constitution, saying that all must\u00a0<\/span>work together to attain that.<\/span><\/p>\n Commenting on the moves made\u00a0<\/span>by AI to get the death penalty\u00a0<\/span>abolished, including the Private\u00a0<\/span>Members\u2019 bills being prepared for\u00a0<\/span>Ghana\u2019s Parliament, he said the\u00a0<\/span>government supported the moves,\u00a0<\/span>but expressed surprise that the bills\u00a0<\/span>had not been given to the Attorney-<\/span>General to make inputs into them.<\/span><\/p>\n Sensitisation<\/strong><\/p>\n President Akufo-Addo assured the\u00a0<\/span>AI delegation that regarding the\u00a0<\/span>motion pending before the UN\u00a0<\/span>General Assembly, Ghana was in full\u00a0<\/span>support of the moratorium, and that\u00a0<\/span>just as it did in 2020, Ghana would\u00a0<\/span>support the motion at the global\u00a0<\/span>forum.<\/span><\/p>\n He said the issues of sensitisation\u00a0<\/span>and education on the abolition of the\u00a0<\/span>death penalty were very crucial\u00a0<\/span>because on those matters candour\u00a0<\/span>was important, as well as consensus-<\/span>building.<\/span><\/p>\n Views<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n The President said some people\u00a0<\/span>were of the view that for the lives of\u00a0<\/span>terrorists to be spared, when they\u00a0<\/span>were not prepared to spare other\u00a0<\/span>people\u2019s lives, was something many\u00a0<\/span>people found it difficult to accept. <\/span><\/p>\n He said nevertheless, he believed\u00a0<\/span>that the principle was one that all\u00a0<\/span>should work towards in Ghana,\u00a0<\/span>noting that especially in the\u00a0<\/span>country\u2019s case when it had made a\u00a0<\/span>conscious decision not to invoke the\u00a0<\/span>death penalty, then it should do the\u00a0<\/span>logical thing and remove the death penalty from\u00a0<\/span>the statute books.<\/span><\/p>\n The Minister of Justice and Attorney-<\/span>General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, noted that he\u00a0<\/span>had had a series of engagements with AI in the\u00a0<\/span>UK and some Ghanaian members of AI,\u00a0<\/span>including Mr Sosu.<\/span><\/p>\n He said he was informed about the Private\u00a0<\/span>Members\u2019 Bill on the Abolition of the Death\u00a0<\/span>Penalty to be laid before Parliament and made a<\/span>re quest for it, so that his office would present it<\/span>s\u00a0<\/span>views on it, as he had done regarding the Private\u00a0<\/span>Members\u2019 Bill relating to the LGBTQI.<\/span><\/p>\n Mr Dame indicated that the group was right\u00a0<\/span>that the repeal of the death penalty could only\u00a0<\/span>be in relation to murder and other offences, but\u00a0<\/span>regarding constitutional offences, they would be<\/span>affected.<\/span><\/p>\n 30 Years<\/strong><\/p>\n Mr Sosu noted that even though over 30 years\u00a0<\/span>no condemned prisoner in Ghana had been\u00a0<\/span>executed, such persons remained on death row\u00a0<\/span>and were treated differently because they were\u00a0<\/span>in condemned cells, a situation which he\u00a0<\/span>believed violated their rights to self-dignity and\u00a0<\/span>constituted a form of torture.<\/span><\/p>\n He said when the private members\u2019 bills\u00a0<\/span>were passed, it would not mean the complete\u00a0<\/span>abolition of the death penalty until treason and\u00a0<\/span>high treason, as entrenched in the Constitution,\u00a0<\/span>were removed.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n