Hosted on Friday 4 March 2016 by the Parliament of Ghana, the Parliamentary Roundtable on the Abolition of the Death Penalty sought to analyse the national and international legal frameworks on the death penalty and address the situation of the death penalty in Ghana to identify the measures to overcome local challenges and obstacles. The Roundtable aimed to highlight the role and contribution of Parliamentarians on concrete initiatives to support the abolition process.
The Roundtable was opened by Hon. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, MP (Ghana), Member of the PGA Executive Committee, who welcomed the participants. After presenting the main arguments for abolition of the death penalty, she encouraged her colleagues in Parliament to work towards abolition as they are in the best place to reform the current legal framework.
H.E. Mr. François Pujolas, Ambassador of France in Ghana affirmed the strong position of France against the death penalty, sharing France’s abolition experience in a context of public support for the retention of the death penalty. He mentioned that the European Union adopted guidelines on the death penalty in 1998 making it a main priority in the field of human rights. The abolition of the death penalty is a precondition for access by States to the EU. The Ambassador also presented the situation of capital punishment in Africa. He highlighted that many States in Africa have been observing a de facto moratorium, sometimes for several decades, as is the case in Ghana. He shared that in Africa, 18 countries have abolished the death penalty in law, 25 have a moratorium and the number of executions has decreased from 30% in 2013. He underscored that Madagascar abolished the death penalty in 2015. The Ambassador emphasized the importance of clemency process and commutation. He stated that in 2011 the Constitutional Review Commission’s recommendation to abolish the death penalty would require a referendum and that Ghana is at a crossroads on this issue. Given the very good reputation of the government of Ghana in Africa and beyond, he called upon Ghana to be a leader in the abolitionist movement in Africa.
Hon. Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, questioned the audience about the moral acceptance of the death penalty as it is one of the most debated human rights topics. Since the inception of common law, the death penalty appeared as a form of punishment for crimes such as murder, treason, genocide and smuggling of diamonds in Ghana. The Constitution of 1992 contains entrenched provisions that support the death penalty as article 13 permits the intentional taking of life “in the exercise of the execution of a sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence under the laws of Ghana” and article 33b specifically imposes the death penalty for high-treason. The Attorney General highlighted that despite these provisions, the country has had a de facto moratorium since 1993. However, the courts still sentence people to death as it is mandatory for certain offences, but the President commutes some sentences as he has the prerogative to issue official pardons. Hon. Appiah-Oppong stated that, as of July 2015, there were 129 prisoners in death row. She then presented the main arguments held in favor of capital punishment: the fact that murderers must forfeit their life, while saying that for many people the right to life is so important that the death penalty cannot be justified. She said that retribution is simply a glorified form of revenge and quoted Archbishop Desmond Tutu: “to take a life when a life has been lost is not justice, it is revenge.” The Attorney General affirmed that abolitionists do not believe that capital punishment is a deterrent given that, according to scientists and researchers, deterrence cannot be proven as people continue to commit crimes at varying rates regardless of retention or abolition. She added that if deterrence is the goal, then we are asking the person who is executed to pay for future crimes that others may commit. Hon. Appiah-Oppong also referred to the issue of the failure of justice. She reminded the audience that eventually an innocent could be convicted and killed because of the flaws of the system and that in Ghana there are some examples of such cases. She illustrated her words with the 2010 case Johnson v. the Republic in which some judges stated that the conviction was held against the right to life and that it violated the fair trial’s principle because of the mandatory capital punishment.
The Attorney General affirmed that the Ghanaian Government commissioned a review of the Constitution by a Constitution Review Commission. At the end of the review, the commission recommended abolition of the constitutional provisions relating to the death penalty. In June 2012, the Government issued a White Paper accepting this recommendation by replacing the death penalty with life imprisonment. The relevant bill is now waiting the gazette notification and also needs to be submitted to a referendum for the people to decide. Stakeholders are holding sensitization workshops to get support for the bill. Hon. Appiah-Oppong concluded by stating that we cannot ignore the fact that inmates are on death row and she is personally invested in the issue.
Dr. David Donat Cattin, Secretary General of PGA, introduced the PGA’s Parliamentary Platform for the Abolition of the Death Penalty and affirmed that PGA’s work is a collaborative effort, open to all concerned Parliamentarians, which also supports the UN General Assembly resolution for a moratorium. He also highlighted the major arguments against capital punishment, such as: right to life, the error factor that can lead to inhumane and irreparable miscarriages of justice, the issue of the State that would act as an executioner. He added that retribution is an important element of criminal justice, but that rehabilitation is also important, and rehabilitation as such is impeded by executions. Dr. David Donat Cattin then declared that he sees inconsistency of the death penalty with the overall progress that has been achieved in a majority of States supporting the Rule of Law and Human Rights worldwide. If constitutional changes would be too difficult or would have unintended negative effects on the cause of abolition, countries should adopt a step by step approach beginning with amending their Penal Code or other ordinary or special legislation.
Hon. Joe Ghartey, Second Deputy Speaker and former Attorney General, highlighted the importance of the presumption of innocence. He also added that the population of Ghana was not too favorable of capital punishment. He affirmed that he has been in Court and that to sentence someone to death is not an easy thing, thus Hon. Ghartey does not believe that it is appropriate for the State and its organs to kill people.
After the Opening Remarks, the Roundtable on The Situation of the death penalty in Ghana - Impact of the death penalty, relevant national and international legal frameworks begun with the intervention of PGA Board Member Hon. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, MP.
Hon. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, highlighted the dubious deterrence quality of the death penalty and the need to move forward with the moratorium. She also suggested that the middle point can be to retain it for high-treason only, as provided in the Constitution, and see if it is possible to eliminate it from all the other offences, the regulation of which is easier to amend. Mr. Richard Quayson, Acting Commissioner of the Ghanaian Commission on Human Right and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), then said that we should look for alternatives to the death penalty as the last execution by hanging took place in 1968 and by firing squad in 1993. He emphasized the importance of sensitizing people on that matter and the fact that political leaders have not supported abolition publicly. His speech was followed by the intervention of Mr. Nana Tawiah Okyir, Lecturer, Faculty of Law, GIMPA and Former Researcher for the Constitution Review Commission. He started by reminding the work of the Commission and its final recommendation to abolish the death penalty as it is not a deterrent and that the country needs to move away from general retribution and revenge. He said that it should be replaced by life imprisonment without possibility of parole. The Executive Director of Amnesty International in Ghana, Mr. Lawrence K. Amesu, then stated that his organization supports the abolition and does not believe that there are circumstances or situations where it should apply as it is not an answer to crimes. He added that the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights encourages Africans to move towards abolition. He explained statistics on the death penalty, which illustrate there is a growing international movement towards abolition. He declared that Amnesty International’s investigations show that 5 countries are top executioners: China, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and USA. He highlighted that in some countries where there was a moratorium they resumed executions, so before this can happen in Ghana MPs should be leaders on abolition. A former death row convict, Mr. Cephas Komla Dzah also emphasized that the death penalty does not profit anyone and explained that he spent 18 years in death row, and that his family suffered a lot until he was pardoned. He also stressed the importance of rehabilitation. During the debate, a participant highlighted that Mr. Dzah was ultimately pardoned in recognition of the fact that he was not responsible for any violent crime.
At the end of the presentations, Members of Parliament and NGO representatives made several comments, mostly highlighting the need to focus on victims and not only the perpetrators, the need for rehabilitation, the need to educate the population at large on the importance of abolishing the death penalty, the lack of its deterrent effect, the error factor and the critical role of MPs to promote abolition amongst constituencies.
The following panel, entitled “Towards the abolition of the death penalty - challenges to abolition (misconceptions, constitutional process), the role and contribution of Parliamentarians on the abolition of the death penalty”, was opened by Hon. Jessie Majome, MP, Chair of the PGA Zimbabwe National Group. She stated that the death penalty questioned our very own humanity and conscience, and disclosed her membership in the International Network of Catholic Legislators, which is a natural ally to the PGA Global Parliamentary Platform on Abolition. She believed that politicians and MPs will succeed in abolition. Ms. Majome explained that in Zimbabwe capital punishment was introduced by the British colonizers in 1890. Before that time, it was not known in traditions and the customary legal system, which was based on a deep regard to the right to life. When the Constitution changed in 2013, the death penalty was abolished and it can only come back if Parliamentarians vote on a special legislation concerning murder in aggravated circumstances.
Hon. Jason Samson Rweikiza, MP (Tanzania) addressed the main arguments against the death penalty and the major role of MPs in the abolition process. He highlighted that in May 2015, PGA organized a roundtable on abolition in Tanzania and that, on this occasion, members of PGA agreed to introduce a bill abolishing capital punishment through relevant amendments to the criminal code. He encouraged his fellow colleagues to take similar initiatives.
Hon. Magnus Amoatey, MP (Ghana), Chair of Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, upon joining the PGA network concluded the discussion by stating that every Ghanaian has a right to life and that the time has come to put aside “an eye for an eye” as Ghana is part of many international human rights instruments. Dialogues with government and leaders of political parties should take place to come to this realization.
As a consequence, the roundtable led to a strategic discussion on priority topics and agreement on strategies and actions.
Strategy to move forward:
The following action-points were agreed upon as plan of action for the PGA group and any other concerned parliamentarian:
- Establishing a working group in the PGA National Group in Ghana to discuss the issue and identify and advance concrete strategies Abolition, including the presentation of a Private Members’ Bill with bipartisan support that could trigger the Government in submitting a similar legislative proposal to Parliament
- Pursuing relevant dialogue and advocacy with the government
- Intervening in the media, with civil society and religious leaders
- Working on amending the statute books that do not require a constitutional reform, with the view of eventually preparing a Private Members Bill on abolition which, in turn, could stimulate a Governmental legislative initiative towards definitive abolition via amendment of ordinary laws and constitutional provisions, the latter to be validated via popular referendum
A similar set of Action Points was deemed relevant to Tanzania, which however does not have to amend its Constitution. Regarding Zimbabwe, PGA Members and other concerned MPs shall promote a strict interpretation of the constitutional and legislative framework, which would translate into abolition to be decided before relevant national jurisdictions.
Conclusion:
In the assessment of PGA, the Roundtable in Ghana was impactful as almost all participating MPs, alongside civil society and government representatives, affirmed their opposition to the death penalty and their willingness to work towards its abolition. The consultation was held at a timely moment, in the context of the Constitutional review process initiative by the executive. All stakeholders recognized that adequate sensitization and mobilization could allow Ghana to move away from the death penalty through appropriate awareness and understanding of the overall negative effects of the death penalty, which shall be supported by serious to modernize and upgrade fair trials, due process and the effective delivery of access to justice for victims of crime. PGA will continue to work with all relevant stakeholders to follow-up on these commitments.