Parliament is wrong with the abolition of the death penalty in Ghana – Dr Kofi Amoah

Economist and development activist, Dr Kofi Amoah, has condemned the decision of Ghana’s 8th Parliament to abolish the death sentence in Ghana.

According to the outspoken businessman, the existence of the death penalty offered some degree of caution to nation wreckers and evildoers in society, arguing that its abolition will now provide a fertile ground for extreme corruption and violence.

Dr Amoah opines that what Ghana’s parliament should have done was to review and fine-tune the existing death penalty law for it to serve its right purpose and not to abolish it.

Writing on his verified Twitter handle, Dr Amoah said, “Instead of reviewing to strengthen the country’s death penalty laws to become credible deterrent of corruption, Parliament wants Ghana to be counted among the world’s countries who have abolished the death penalty … SMH.”

According to Dr Amoah Ghana did not need to abolish the death penalty in order to satisfy some requirement of a development partner because Ghana has its peculiar challenges that demands such laws to still be on the country’s books.

Read his tweet on the abolition of the death penalty below

“Parliament is wrong with the abolition of the death penalty in Ghana. Corruption and corruption-related offenses are KILLING Ghana, big time!

And this has also created a culture of “get-rich-quick-by-any-means”, poisoning the indispensable essence of honesty and hard work that are necessary for the advancement of any society.

Instead of reviewing to strengthen the country’s death penalty laws to become a credible deterrent of corruption, Parliament wants Ghana to be counted among the world’s countries that have abolished the death penalty … SMH.

Do we really appreciate the challenges Ghana faces and the areas of governance we must differ so that we can also make progress and catch up with the “developed world” we wish to compare ourselves to?

A new progressive Parliament and Prez must propose more robust Death Penalty Laws for larger public discussion and adoption. We must remove the cancer that is killing our dreams for PROGRESS!!”

The decision by parliament earlier this week to abolish the death penalty means Ghana joins a long list of African countries that have done so in recent years.

The country currently has 170 men and six women on death row, whose sentences will now be replaced by life imprisonment. The last execution took place in 1993.

Execution has been the mandatory sentence for murder in Ghana.

PARLIAMENT IS WRONG WITH THE ABOLITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY IN GHANA

Corruption and corruption- related offenses are KILLING Ghana, big time!

And this has also created a culture of

“get-rich-quick-by-any-means”, poisoning the indispensable essence of honesty and hard-work that… https://t.co/7M8ii1CSAH

— CitizenKofi (@amoah_citizen) July 26, 2023