Bill to abolish death penalty has Akufo-Addo’s blessings – Xavier Sosu

The Member of Parliament for the Madina constituency, Francis-Xavier Sosu has disclosed that the Criminal Offences Amendment Act, which seeks to replace the death penalty with life imprisonment has the backing of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who is hopeful Parliament passes the bill into law.

Members of Parliament were left divided while debating the amendment bill when it was considered in Parliament on Friday, July 14.

Making supporting arguments for the abolishment of the death penalty on The Point of View on Citi TV, the Madina legislator while upholding the international conventions protecting human rights, said President Akufo-Addo for the first time at the UN voted to support the scrapping of the death penalty from the statutes of countries across the world.

“The president [Nana Akufo-Addo] at the UN voted in favour of the abolishment of the death penalty for the first time, and he has even made public statements in support of the abolishment. It was the president that called for a cross-party approach to passing this bill when stakeholders called on him, and so he fully endorses and supports the position.”

Mr. Sosu emphasized that though the death penalty has not been applied since 1993, it could be used at any time by a crooked government to hunt its opponents as in the case of Myanmar.

“The government in 1991 said there were not going to be executions again, but 12 people were executed by firing squad in 1993 and from colonial times till 1993, 37 people were killed.”

“When you take the case of Myanmar, the country had not used the law for 42 years, but it was there on its books and last year when there was a military takeover, they used it against their opponents and gave legal reasons where four leaders were killed, and a hundred others were convicted to death.”