A Human Rights Organization, Amnesty International Ghana has launched its 2020 Death Penalty Report with a call on all relevant bodies and stakeholders to support the cause in abolishing the process.
The Amnesty International Ghana until recently, focused on influencing the Executives and the Legislature to abolish the death penalty through the implementation of the Constitution Review Commission’s (CRC) recommendation. However, AI Ghana changed its strategy to an advocacy approach through sound legal advice which now focuses on amending the Criminal Offences Act, Act 29 (1960) to abolish 96% of the provisions relating to the use of the death penalty.
According to the Amnesty International Ghana, there have been a significant decrease in the number of new death sentences known to have been imposed globally in 2020 which is about 1,477 thus down by 36% as compared to 2019 which was about 2,307.
Speaking at the Launch of the report at the University of Cape Coast yesterday, Member of Parliament for Madina Constituency and Legal Practitioner, Francis Xavier Sosu assured the public of a consensus decision to be taken by parliament on the passage of the bill to help bring the subject of death penalty to a successive end.
Read Also: One ocean hub holds field instrument workshop in UCC
“It is very important that government will take a second look at the process and quicken it so that before the end of this year we push to amend the criminal and other offences act to make death Penalty a thing of the past. Whilst I believe that people must pay a price of their offences, I do not believe that death penalty serves any useful purpose, particularly when the purpose of punishment is reforms, so we need to really work fast to review our laws ”, he said.
He further intimated “I want to assure the general public as a member of the minority that the minority in parliament is as interested in passing this bill as the government of the day so I can assure you that we are going to pass this bill by consensus. I do not think there is going to be any dissenting view when it comes to passing this bill on the floor of parliament and it is time for us to work together with one voice and purpose to abolish death penalty”
On his part, the International Board Member of Amnesty International Ghana, Dr. Vincent Adzahlie-Mensah noted that “the organization is committed to challenging the existence of the death punishment is whatever form because it is the ultimate cruel and inhumane punishment that can be meted out to anybody. The purpose of punishment is to reform, the killing of additional soul does not save the soul that has been lost”.
He further called on all relevant bodies and stakeholders to support the cause in order to quicken the abolishment processes.
“I want to use this opportunity to call on all of us, the security services, the legal professions, civil service organizations, NGOs, Institutions, state administrations, media and all relevant bodies to carry on this fight and make sure that death penalty is completely abolished”.
SOURCE: GLORIA AMPOMAH OPPONG/ATLFMNEWS
