Amnesty International Ghana has renewed calls for the country to fully abolish the death penalty from its constitution and immediately commute all existing death row sentences to life imprisonment.
Francis Nyantakyi, board chair of Amnesty Ghana, said while Ghana has not carried out executions since 1993 and has removed capital punishment from ordinary criminal law, retaining it in the constitution leaves room for future governments to revive the practice.
“As long as the death penalty remains in the constitution, a future government may decide to resume executions at any time,” he said.
Nyantakyi urged President John Dramani Mahama to use his prerogative of mercy to commute the sentences of about 90 inmates currently on death row, describing the move as both urgent and symbolic.
“Commuting these sentences would be the clearest demonstration that Ghana is no longer interested in retaining the death penalty,” he said.
He argued that prolonged detention on death row amounts to psychological torture, with inmates subjected to years of uncertainty, isolation and trauma.
“People live for decades under fear of execution that never comes. That in itself is inhumane,” he added.
Nyantakyi maintained that capital punishment is irreversible and risks fatal miscarriages of justice, citing cases in the United States where death row inmates were later exonerated.
“What happens when new evidence proves innocence after execution? The state cannot restore life,” he said.
He also rejected arguments that crimes such as treason or terrorism justify execution, warning that such cases are often politically charged and vulnerable to abuse.
“Death penalty is not a solution to crime. It is the ultimate irreversible punishment and cannot be justified under any circumstance,” he said.
Ghana’s parliament in 2023 removed the death penalty from the Criminal and Other Offences Act, but constitutional provisions remain because they require a referendum to amend.
Nyantakyi said successive governments and constitutional review committees have supported abolition, urging authorities to expedite the process.
“Ghana has the opportunity to align fully with modern human rights standards and demonstrate leadership as a beacon of democracy,” he said.
He called on lawmakers, the attorney general and civil society to push for a referendum, stressing that “eye for an eye is not the foundation of a just society.”
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