Amnesty International organises seminar for journalists

Accra, Dec. 7, GNA - Ghana Office of Amnesty International, on Mond= ay organised a day's seminar on the theme: "Why the Death Penalty Must be Abolished in Ghana", for journalists on the death penalty, in Accra. Topics treated included, death penalty, democracy and rule of law, punishment to the poor and the vulnerable.

Mr Vincent Adzahlie-Mensah, Board Chairman, Amnesty International Ghana, said death penalty was the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment which violated the right to life. He said: "the death penalty is irrevocable, coupled with a justice system that is prone to human error and prejudice. The risk of executing an innocent person is ever present".

Mr Adzahlie-Mensah noted that most people advocated the death penal= ty in the name of "victims' rights but was un-appropriate and unacceptable response to violent crime. He appealed to journalists to educate the people on issues that wer= e illegal under the domestic laws and international human rights standards and the need to abolish the death penalty to protect people against some of these infractions. 7 Dec. 09