By Rihana Adam
Accra, Sept. 8, GNA – Amnesty International (AI) Ghana, a non-governmental organisation has called on news organisations to channel their support for the abolition of death penalty.
Mr. Francis Nyantakyi, Board Chairman AI Ghana made the call during the “News Editors Forum” held at the British High Commission in Accra.
According to him, the abolition of death penalty in Ghana which was recommended by the country’s Constitutional Review Commission in 2010, was supported by the then government in 2012, and was to be subjected to a referendum.
He said, however, the recommendation failed to bring about changes due to the delays in the constitutional amendment process.
He added that ending the death penalty would send a powerful message that a country that seeks to advance human rights recognises its people.
“We at the Amnesty believe that the death penalty is a cruel and inhuman punishment that discriminates against the most vulnerable in the society including the poor, those with less capacity to engage good lawyers, ethnic and religious minorities and people with mental disabilities.
“We are appealing to all news organisation to use their platforms to amplify the course of death penalty campaign.” He said
Mr. Francis-Xavier Kojo Sosu, Member of Parliament (MP) for Madina Constituency said journalists interested reporting in those areas could visit Nsawam prisons to have clear views.“I encourage journalists interested in those areas of advocacy to pay a working visit to the Nsawam prisons and see what happens to people in the condemned ceils for life imprisonment.
“Their right to human dignity, right to life, right to health is violated.”
He said though many people argued that life imprisonment served as lessons to people found guilty and more so families of victims may feel better, research had shown that it did not deter crime.
“No one is saying that persons who commit murder must go scout free, but we cannot continuously use killing as a means of punishment in this 21st century, where many nations have moved away from that area and Ghana which is supposed to be a beacon of democracy, many Africa countries have gone ahead us.
“Death Penalty is irreversible, so it is very dangerous to continue to keep this penalty on our study books.” He said.
Joining the discussion via Zoom was Mr. Saul Lehrfreund, Co-Executive Director, Death Penalty Project, United Kingdom (UK) said the death penalty did not make society safer, but rather irreversible and mistakes normally happen, where the risk of executing an innocent person can never be eliminated.
“Ghana abolishing the death penalty depends on the support from the majority of the people in the country willing to change the dynamic.” He stated.
GNA