AFRICA/GHANA - Bishops back bill to abolish death penalty

Accra (Agenzia Fides) - "God created the human person in his image and likeness and therefore only he can take back human life. It is therefore the obligation of every possessor of life to strive to at all times to preserve the sanctity of human life", the Ghana Bishops’ Conference says in a statement of support for the two bills to abolish the death penalty. The Bishops call on Ghanaians to "work with determination to abolish the death penalty from our legal system".
Other reasons why the Bishops' Conference says the death penalty is unacceptable include the fact that it "does not give the condemned person the opportunity to repent and ask for forgiveness". In addition, there are cases in which innocent people are put to death for a judicial error. "It is for this reason that the Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference presents this memorandum in support of the two bills submitted to the Ghanaian Parliament to end the death penalty in our statutes".
In the Ghanaian Parliament there are two bills to amend the Criminal Offences Act of 1960 (Article 29) and the Armed Forces Act of 1962 (Article 105) which establish the cases in which a death sentence can be issued, in civil and military justice. The proposed amendments plan to replace the death penalty with life imprisonment. There are currently 171 people on death row in Ghana, while 27 African countries have abolished the death penalty. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 3/11/2022)

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