Capital punishment in Ghana

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Ghana only for high treason. Ghana last executed a criminal in 1993. The method of execution is by firing squad.^[1] It is considered "abolitionist in practice."^[2] Capital punishment was a mandatory sentence for certain ordinary criminal offenses until 2023.^[3]

Seven new death sentences were handed down in 2021, while 165 people were on death row in Ghana at the end of 2021.^[4]

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."^[5]

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.^[6]

References

^ "Abolitionist and retentionist countries (as of July 2018)". Amnesty International. 23 October 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
^ "Abolitionist and retentionist countries (as of July 2018)". Amnesty International. 23 October 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
^ "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.

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[1] "Abolitionist and retentionist countries (as of July 2018)". Amnesty International. 23 October 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2022.

[2] "Abolitionist and retentionist countries (as of July 2018)". Amnesty International. 23 October 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2022.

[3] "Ghana and the Death Penalty". Parliamentarians for Global Action. Retrieved 25 July 2022.

[4] "Death sentences and executions 2021". Amnesty International. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2022.

[5] Adombila, Maxwell Akalaare; Akorlie, Christian (2023-07-25). "Ghana parliament votes to abolish the death penalty". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-07-25.

[6] "Father sentenced to death for offering son as sacrifice". Ghana Business News. 2023-08-11. Retrieved 2023-08-25.

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v t e Capital punishment
Current judicial methods	Hanging Shooting firing squad Lethal injection Nitrogen hypoxia Electrocution Gas chamber Beheading Stoning
Ancient and post-classical methods	Damnatio ad bestias Blood eagle Blowing from a gun Brazen bull Boiling Breaking wheel Burial Burning Crucifixion Crushing Decimation Disembowelment Dismemberment Drowning Republican marriage Elephant Falling Flaying Garrote Gibbeting Guillotine Hanged, drawn and quartered Immurement Impalement Ishikozume Mazzatello Sawing Scaphism Slow slicing Stoning Suffocation in ash Upright jerker Waist chop
Related topics	Enforcement or use by country Most recent executions by country Crime Death row Executioner list Scharfrichter Final statement Last meal Penology List of methods Religion and capital punishment Wrongful execution Botched execution Resolutions concerning death penalty at the United Nations Capital punishment for drug trafficking Capital punishment for homosexuality

v t e Capital punishment in Africa
Sovereign states	Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Eswatini Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe
States with limited recognition	Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Somaliland
Dependencies and other territories	Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla (Spain) Madeira (Portugal) Mayotte / Réunion (France) Saint Helena / Ascension Island / Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom)