Capital punishment in Ghana
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Ghana only for high treason. Ghana executed a criminal for the last time in 1993. The method of execution is by firing squad.[1] It is considered "abolitionist in practice."[1] Capital punishment was a mandatory sentence for certain ordinary criminal offenses until 2023.[2]
Seven new death sentences were handed down in 2021, while 165 people were on death row in Ghana at the end of 2021.[3]
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."[4]
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.[5]
In July 2026 the Ghanaian government accepted recommendations to amend the constitution to abolish the death penalty and replace it with life imprisonment. As of 2026 legislation is currently pending.[6]
References
- 1 2 "ANNEX II: ABOLITIONIST AND RETENTIONIST COUNTRIES". Amnesty International. 18 May 2026. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "Ghana government backs Constitutional abolition of death penalty". GBN. 30 July 2026. Retrieved 26 August 2026.