Reconsidering the Abolition of Capital Punishment in Ghana

Abstract

The human rights argument for the abolishment of the death penalty has been firmly established in modern times in both practical terms and in the academic circles. Today, most countries have abolished the death penalty for various reasons, all of which are based on human rights. This paper is a contribution to the numerous studies calling for the abolition of the death penalty in various countries. Aside from discussing relevant international instruments (and other national instruments and judicial decisions) relevant to abolishing the death penalty, it focuses on issues concerning the death penalty in Ghana. The primary aim of this paper is to make a recommendation to both the executive and legislative arms of the Ghana government to abolish the death penalty.

Keywords

• Death penalty
• ICCPR
• ECHR
• African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
• Constitution of Ghana
• Criminal and Other Offences Act of Ghana