Source: http://www.deathpenaltyworldwide.org/country-search-post.cfm?country=Ghana
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 05:04:39+00:00

Document:
U.S. Dept. of State, Background Note: Ghana, http://www.state.gov/outofdate/bgn/ghana/192343.htm, Dec. 21, 2011.
 Amnesty Intl., Death penalty: Countries abolitionist in practice, http://www.amnesty.org/en/death-penalty/countries-abolitionist-in-practice, last accessed Oct. 14, 2012.
 Henrietta J.A.N. Mensa-Bonsu, The Annotated Criminal Procedure Code of Ghana (Act 30 of 1960), art. 304 (3), Black Mask LTD, 1999.
 Amnesty Intl., When the State Kills, p. 135, Amnesty Intl. Publications, 1989.
 Justice Tankebe, Kofi E. Boakye, and Atudiwe P. Atupare, Public Opinion on the Death Penalty in Ghana: Final Report, Accra Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice, Dec. 2015.
 Amnesty Intl., Death Sentences and Executions in 2016, ACT 50/5740/2017, Apr. 11, 2017.
 Amnesty Intl., Death Sentences and Executions in 2007, p.6, ACT 50/001/2008, Apr. 15, 2008.
 Amnesty Intl., Death Sentences and Executions in 2008, p.8, ACT 50/003/2009, Mar. 24, 2009.
 Amnesty Intl., Death Sentences and Executions in 2009, p.6, ACT 50/001/2010, Mar. 30, 2010.
 Amnesty Intl., Death penalty: Countries abolitionist in practice http://www.amnesty.org/en/death-penalty/countries-abolitionist-in-practice, last accessed Oct. 14, 2012.
Ghana has ratified the Protocol to the African Convention on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa,  which prohibits the execution of nursing mothers.
 Ghana Criminal Code of 1960, art. 48, amended by Act No. 646 of 2003.
 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, arts. 3, 19, May 8, 1992. Ghana Criminal Code of 1960, art. 180, amended by Act No. 646 of 2003.
 Ghana Criminal Code of 1960, art. 49A, amended by Act No. 646 of 2003.
 Ghana Criminal Code Act No. 29 of 1960, art. 49, amended by Act No. 646 of 2003.
 Ghana Criminal Code of 1960, art. 194(2), amended by Act No. 646 of 2003.
 Ghana Criminal Code of 1960, art. 317A(1), amended by Act No. 646 of 2003.
 100 Inmates on Death Row at Nsawam, GhanaWeb, http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=124822, May 30, 2007. Ebenezer Hanson, Death Penalty will not go for now, http://allafrica.com/stories/200904030774.html, Apr.3, 2009. Ike Francis Anyanike, Amnesty Intl. country specialist for Ghana, email to DPW, DPW Ghana, Doc. No. Email-3, Feb. 10, 2011. Hands Off Cain, Ghana: 2010, http://www.handsoffcain.info/bancadati/schedastato.php?idcontinente=25&nome=ghana, last accessed Jan. 30, 2011. The Death Penalty Project, Human Rights Litigation in African Countries: Ghana, http://www.deathpenaltyproject.org/content_pages/31, last accessed Jan. 23, 2011.
 Ghana Criminal Code of 1960, art. 149, amended by Act No. 646 of 2003. See also Republic of Ghana Constitution Review Commission, Report of the Constitution Review Commission: From a Political To A Developmental Constitution, paras. 57-58, Dec. 11, 2011. Henrietta J.A.N. Mensa-Bonsu, The Annnotated Criminal Offenses Act of Ghana, art. 149, Black Mask LTD, 5th ed., 2008.
 The Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, Art 3(3), May 8, 1992.
 Dexter Eddie Johnson v. Republic, Criminal Appeal No. J3/3/2010, Supreme Court of Ghana, Mar. 16, 2011.
 The Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, Art 3(3), May 8, 1992; Ghana Criminal Code of 1960, art. 180(1), amended by Act No. 64art. 180(1), amended by Act No. 646 of 2003.
 Status, Declarations, and Reservations, ICCPR, 999 U.N.T.S. 171, Dec. 16, 1966, http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-4&chapter=4〈=en, last accessed Jan. 23, 2011.
 List of countries which have signed/ratified/acceded to the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, http://www.africa-union.org/root/au/Documents/Treaties/List/African%20Charter%20on%20the%20Rights%20and%20Welfare%20of%20the%20Child.pdf, Mar. 1, 2010.
 Henrietta J.A.N. Mensa-Bonsu, The Annotated Criminal Procedure Code of Ghana (Act 30 of 1960), sec. 295, Black Mask LTD, 1999..
 Henrietta J.A.N. Mensa-Bonsu, The Annotated Criminal Procedure Code of Ghana (Act 30 of 1960), sec. 312, Black Mask LTD, 1999.
 Ghana Criminal Code of 1960, art. 27, amended by Act No. 646 of 2003.
 Ghana Criminal Code of 1960, art. 27, Illustrations, paras. (a)(1), (a)(2), (b)(1), amended by Act No. 646 of 2003.
 Henrietta J.A.N. Mensa-Bonsu, The Annotated Criminal Offenses Act of Ghana, p. 50-55, Black Mask LTD, 5th ed., 2008. However, these are also not always Ghana cases, Ghanaian jurisprudence being unavailable at times. These annotations could be seen as the author’s impressions as a professor of law in Ghana.
 Ghana Criminal Code of 1960, arts. 27-28, amended by Act No. 646 of 2003.
 Status, Declarations, and Reservations, ICCPR, 999 U.N.T.S. 171, Dec. 16, 1966, http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-4&chapter=4〈=en, last accessed Oct. 14, 2012.
 Status, Declarations, and Reservations, Optional Prot. to the ICCPR, 999 U.N.T.S. 171, Dec. 16, 1966, http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-5&chapter=4〈=en, last accessed Oct. 14, 2012.
 Status, Declarations, and Reservations, Second Optional Prot. to the ICCPR, Aiming at the Abolition of the Death Penalty, 1642 U.N.T.S. 414, Dec. 15, 1989, http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-12&chapter=4〈=en, last accessed Oct. 14, 2012.
 Status, Declarations, and Reservations, Second Optional Prot. to the ICCPR, Aiming at the Abolition of the Death Penalty, 1642 U.N.T.S. 414, Dec. 15, 1989, http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-12&chapter=4〈=en, last accessed Jan. 23, 2011.
 African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Ratification Table: African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, http://www.achpr.org/instruments/achpr/ratification, last accessed Oct. 14, 2012.
 African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Ratification Table: Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, http://www.achpr.org/instruments/women-protocol/ratification, last accessed Oct. 14, 2012.
 African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Ratification Table: African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, http://www.achpr.org/instruments/child/ratification, last accessed Oct. 14, 2012.
The Constitution provides: “In the discharge of the obligations [to protect fundamental human rights and freedoms], the State shall be guided by international human rights instruments which recognize and apply particular categories of basic human rights to development processes.”  This could be interpreted as requiring that Ghana’s criminal law conform to human rights agreements to which it is party.
There are several official and unofficial case reporters, including the Ghana Law Reports, the Ghana Law Reports Digest, and the Current Cases published by the Council for Law Reporting, but there is no comprehensive index of Ghananian case law.  The Ghana Law Reports and other legal resources are available online on Datacenta by paid subscription (http://www.datacenta.com.) There is also a regularly updated annotated criminal offenses code that contains some cases relevant to issues in capital cases.  We did not find any case law on the Ghanaian government websites.
 The Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, arts. 13(1), 19(2), 72(2) , May 8,1992.
 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, art. 94(2), May 8, 1992.
 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, art. 37(3), May 8, 1992.
 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, Art 40, May 8, 1992.
 Cindy Liao affiliated with CEPIL Stanford, email to DPW, DPW Ghana, Doc. Email-1.
 A. Kodzo Paaku Kludze, Constitutional Rights and Their Relationship with International Human Rights in Ghana, p. 680 , HeinOnline—41 Isr. L. Rev., 2008.
 Amnesty Intl., Death Penalty: Countries Abolitionist in Practice, http://www.amnesty.org/en/death-penalty/countries-abolitionist-in-practice, last accessed Jan 23, 2011.
 Contrast Henrietta J.A.N. Mensa-Bonsu, The Annnotated Criminal Offenses Act of Ghana, art. 149, Black Mask LTD, 5th ed., 2008 and Henrietta J.A.N. Mensa-Bonsu, The Annotated Criminal Procedure Code of Ghana (Act 30 of 1960),p. 204-205, Black Mask LTD, 1999 with Ghana Criminal Code of 1960, art. 149, amended by Act No. 646 of 2003. The older law did not differentiate between armed or unarmed robbery, and provided for the death penalty. The law (available from the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime) labeled as the 2003 amendment law does differentiate between armed and unarmed robbery and provides the death penalty for neither.
 See, for example, Hands Off Cain, Ghana: 2010, http://www.handsoffcain.info/bancadati/schedastato.php?idcontinente=25&nome=ghana, last accessed Feb. 21, 2011.
 Amnesty Intl., ‘Prisoners Are Bottom of the Pile’: The Human Rights of Inmates in Ghana, p. 33, AFR 28/002/2012, Apr. 2012.
 U.N.G.A., 62nd Session, 76th Plenary Meeting, pp. 16- 17, U.N. Doc. A/62/PV.76, Dec. 18, 2007. U.N.G.A., 63rd Session, 70th Plenary Meeting, pp. 16- 17, U.N. Doc. A/63/PV.70, Dec. 18, 2008. U.N.G.A., 65th Session, 71st Plenary Meeting, pp. 18-19, U.N. Doc. A/65/PV.71, Dec. 21, 2010. U.N.G.A., 69th Session, 73rd Plenary Meeting, pp. 17-18, U.N. Doc. A/69/PV.73, Dec. 18, 2014.
 Hands Off Cain, The Death Penalty Worldwide—2010 Report, p. 59-60, August 2010.
 Ghana News Agency, Kufuor pardons Tsatsu, Kwame Peprah, 500 others, http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/rumor/Kufuor-pardons-Tsatsu-Kwame-Peprah-500-others-155822, Jan. 7, 2009.
 Roger Hood & Carolyn Hoyle, The Death Penalty: A Worldwide Perspective, p. 76, Oxford University Press, 4th ed., 2008. Hands Off Cain, The Death Penalty Worldwide—2010 Report, p. 59., August 2010.
 Republic of Ghana Constitution Review Commission, Report of the Constitution Review Commission: From a Political To A Developmental Constitution, para. 75, Dec. 11, 2011.
 Republic of Ghana Constitution Review Commission, Report of the Constitution Review Commission: From a Political To A Developmental Constitution, paras. 67, 74, Dec. 11, 2011.
 Republic of Ghana Constitution Review Commission, Report of the Constitution Review Commission: From a Political To A Developmental Constitution, para. 72, Dec. 11, 2011.
 Republic of Ghana, White Paper on the Report of the Constitution Review Commission of Inquiry, p. 44, WP. No. 1/2012, Jun. 2012.
 Justice Tankebe, Kofi E. Boakye, and Atudiwe P. Atupare, Public Opinion on the Death Penalty in Ghana: Final Report, Centre for Criminology and Justice & University of Cambridge Institute of Criminology, http://nebula.wsimg.com/6653665afb945630ea4f6c0beffe65bd?AccessKeyId=50A9833FCBD2E20E7634&disposition=0&alloworigin=1, 2015. Kofi E. Boakye and Justice Tankebe, A pioneering study of public opinion on the death penalty in Ghana suggests the unpopularity of the death penalty as punishment for crime, Death Penalty Worldwide, http://blog.deathpenaltyworldwide.org/2016/02/a-pioneering-study-of-public-opinion-on-the-death-penalty-in-ghana-suggests-the-unpopularity-of-the-.html, Feb. 1, 2016.
 Roger Hood & Carolyn Hoyle, The Death Penalty: A Worldwide Perspective, p. 76, Oxford University Press, 4th ed., 2008.
 Hands Off Cain, The Death Penalty Worldwide—2010 Report, p. 60, August 2010.
 Dexter Eddie Johnson v. The Republic, Criminal Appeal No. J3/3/2010, Supreme Court of Ghana, March 16, 2011.
 Victor Essien, Researching Ghanaian Law, NYU GlobaLex, http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Ghana1.htm, Jan. 2012.
 The Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, Art 72, May 8, 1992.
 The Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, Art 72 (2), May 8, 1992.
 Henrietta J.A.N. Mensa-Bonsu, The Annotated Criminal Procedure Code of Ghana (Act 30 of 1960), art. 307, 308, 309(1), Black Mask LTD, 1999.
 Henrietta J.A.N. Mensa-Bonsu, The Annotated Criminal Procedure Code of Ghana (Act 30 of 1960), sec. 245, Black Mask LTD, 1999.
 The Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, Art 19, May, 8, 1992.
 U.S. Dept. of State, 2009 Human Rights Report: Ghana, Denial of Fair Public Trial, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/af/135956.htm, Mar. 11, 2010.
 The Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, Art 19 (2)(b), May 8, 1992.
 Assn. of Commonwealth Criminal Lawyers, Ghanaian Criminal Court System, http://www.acclawyers.org/resources/ghana/, last accessed Feb. 21, 2011; AfriMAP, The Open Society Initiative for West Africa & The Institute for Democratic Governance, Ghana: Justice Sector and the Rule of Law, p. 34-35, http://www.afrimap.org/english/images/report/AfriMAP_Ghana_Justice.pdf, 2007.
 Henrietta J.A.N. Mensa-Bonsu, The Annotated Criminal Procedure Code of Ghana (Act 30 of 1960), art 305, Black Mask LTD, 1999.
 U.S. Dept. of State, 2009 Human Rights Report: Ghana, Denial of Fair Public Trial, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/af/135956.htm, Mar. 11, 2010; Assn. of Commonwealth Criminal Lawyers, Ghanaian Criminal Court System, http://www.acclawyers.org/resources/ghana/, last accessed Feb. 21, 2011; AfriMAP, The Open Society Initiative for West Africa & The Institute for Democratic Governance, Ghana: Justice Sector and the Rule of Law, p. 34-35, http://www.afrimap.org/english/images/report/AfriMAP_Ghana_Justice.pdf, 2007.
As of February 2016, we found no reports that individuals were held under sentence of death for crimes committed while under the age of 18.
We did not find any reports regarding the racial or ethnic composition of death row as of October 2012.
The Legal Aid Scheme was implemented to help indigent defendants receive legal help. The LAS addresses, among other issues, human rights violations and handles 6000-8000 cases annually.  A Remand Review Project,  and Legal Aid Board  address the demand for assistance on remand and appeal. We do not know the extent to which these programs assist capital defendants or appellants, although the mandate of the Legal Aid Board is to assist in both civil and criminal matters.
 Ghana Prisons Service, Friday Morning Unlocked Report, Jul. 31, 2015. Amnesty Intl., ‘Prisoners Are Bottom of the Pile’: The Human Rights of Inmates in Ghana, AFR 28/002/2012, Apr. 2012. Metro TV (Ghana), Inside Ghana’s Prisons (video), http://www.ghanatubes.com/view/764/inside-ghanas-prisons-1/, Jan. 2, 2010. Ghana News Agency, 104 death row inmates packed into a hole for 24, Vibe Ghana, http://vibeghana.com/2010/11/25/104-prisoners-on-death-roll-packed-into-a-hole-for-24/, Nov. 25, 2010.
 Amnesty Intl., ‘Prisoners Are Bottom of the Pile’: The Human Rights of Inmates in Ghana, pp. 34-35, AFR 28/002/2012, Apr. 2012.
 Ghana Prisons Service, Friday Morning Unlocked Report, Jul. 31, 2015.
 Amnesty Intl., ‘Prisoners Are Bottom of the Pile’: The Human Rights of Inmates in Ghana, pp. 33-34, AFR 28/002/2012, Apr. 2012.
 U.N.G.A., Human Rights Council, Universal Periodic Review, Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review—Ghana, para. 31, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/8/36, May 29, 2008.
 Metro TV (Ghana), Inside Ghana’s Prisons (video), http://www.ghanatubes.com/view/764/inside-ghanas-prisons-1/, Jan. 2, 2010.
 Ghana News Agency, 104 death row inmates packed into a hole for 24, Vibe Ghana, http://vibeghana.com/2010/11/25/104-prisoners-on-death-roll-packed-into-a-hole-for-24/, Nov. 25, 2010.
 U.S. Dept. of State, 2009 Human Rights Report: Ghana, Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/af/135956.htm, Mar. 11, 2010.
 Amnesty Intl., Death Sentences and Executions in 2017, p. 36, ACT 50/7955/2018, Apr. 12, 2018.
 Ghana News Agency, Ghana Urged to Remove Death Penalty from its Laws, Business Ghana, https://www.businessghana.com/site/news/general/174438/Ghana-urged-to-remove-death-penalty-from-its-laws, Oct. 17, 2018.
 The Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, art. 19, May 8,1992.
 U.S. Dept. of State, 2009 Human Rights Report: Ghana, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/af/135956, Mar. 11, 2010.
 Edudzi Ofori and Chelsea Paradis, Prisoners’ Rights in Ghana, p. 44-45, Report prepared for Journalists for Human Rights, http://www.jhr.ca/en/aboutjhr/downloads/publications/Prisoners%20Rights%20in%20Ghana.%20Edudzi%20Ofori%20&%20Chelsea%20Paradis.%202006.pdf?id_article=3266, Aug 12 2006.
 U.N.G.A., Human Rights Council, National Report Submitted in Accordance with Paragraph 15(A) of the Annex to Human Rights Council Resolution 5/1: Ghana, p. 15-16, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/WG.6/2/GHA/1, Apr 8, 2008.
 U.N.G.A., Human Rights Council, National Report Submitted in Accordance with Paragraph 15(A) of the Annex to Human Rights Council Resolution 5/1: Ghana, p. 15, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/WG.6/2/GHA/1, Apr 8, 2008.
 There are NGOs that provide representation and assist in making appeals for prisoners in Ghana, such as the Legal Resource Center (http://lrcghanaorg.tempwebpage.com/).
 Interview with Mr. Joe Aboagye Debrah, Being a Lawyer in Ghana, Advocats Sans Frontieres, http://www.asf.be/en/being-lawyer-in-ghana, May 2010.
 Metro TV (Ghana), Inside Ghana’s Prisons (video), http://www.ghanatubes.com/view/764/inside-ghanas-prisons-1/, Jan. 2, 2010. U.S. Dept. of State, 2009 Human Rights Report: Ghana, Arbitrary Arrest or Detention, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/af/135956.htm, Mar. 11, 2010.
 U.S. Dept. of State, 2009 Human Rights Report: Ghana, Arbitrary Arrest or Detention, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/af/135956.htm, Mar. 11, 2010.
 Edudzi Ofori and Chelsea Paradis, Prisoners’ Rights in Ghana, p. 12, 15, 47, Report prepared for Journalists for Human Rights,http://www.jhr.ca/en/aboutjhr/downloads/publications/Prisoners%20Rights%20in%20Ghana.%20Edudzi%20Ofori%20&%20Chelsea%20Paradis.%202006.pdf?id_article=3266, Aug 12 2006.
 Amnesty Intl., Amnesty Intl. Report 2010: Human Rights in the Republic of Ghana, http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/ghana/report-2010., May 28, 2010.
 U.S. Dept. of State, 2009 Human Rights Report: Ghana, Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/af/135956, Mar. 11, 2010.
 Edudzi Ofori and Chelsea Paradis, Prisoners’ Rights in Ghana, p. 10, Report prepared for Journalists for Human Rights, http://www.jhr.ca/en/aboutjhr/downloads/publications/Prisoners%20Rights%20in%20Ghana.%20Edudzi%20Ofori%20&%20Chelsea%20Paradis.%202006.pdf?id_article=3266, Aug 12 2006.
 U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Reporting Status: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: Ghana’s Reporting Round 1, http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/5038ebdcb712174dc1256a2a002796da/80256404004ff315c125638c005d96ae?OpenDocument, last accessed Oct. 14, 2012.
 U.N.G.A., Human Rights Council, Report of the Working Group on the UPR, paras. 30, 38, 41, 46, 54, 70, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/8/36, May 29, 2008; UPR-info, Responses to Recommendations: Ghana, http://www.upr-info.org/IMG/pdf/Recommendations_Ghana_2008.pdf, Feb 25, 2010.
Justice Tankebe, Kofi E. Boakye, and Atudiwe P. Atupare, Public Opinion on the Death Penalty in Ghana: Final Report, Centre for Criminology and Justice & University of Cambridge Institute of Criminology, http://nebula.wsimg.com/6653665afb945630ea4f6c0beffe65bd?AccessKeyId=50A9833FCBD2E20E7634&disposition=0&alloworigin=1, 2015.
Kofi E. Boakye and Justice Tankebe, A pioneering study of public opinion on the death penalty in Ghana suggests the unpopularity of the death penalty as punishment for crime, Death Penalty Worldwide, http://blog.deathpenaltyworldwide.org/2016/02/a-pioneering-study-of-public-opinion-on-the-death-penalty-in-ghana-suggests-the-unpopularity-of-the-.html, Feb. 1, 2016.
Amnesty Intl., ‘Prisoners Are Bottom of the Pile’: The Human Rights of Inmates in Ghana, AFR 28/002/2012, Apr. 2012.
Edudzi Ofori and Chelsea Paradis, Prisoners’ Rights in Ghana, Journalists for Human Rights, http://www.jhr.ca/en/aboutjhr/downloads/publications/Prisoners%20Rights%20in%20Ghana.%20Edudzi%20Ofori%20&%20Chelsea%20Paradis.%202006.pdf?id_article=3266, Aug. 12, 2006.
An informative news story by Metro TV Ghana on the grim conditions of Ghanaian prisons can be watched here (the video is about 50 minutes long): http://www.ghanatubes.com/view/764/inside-ghanas-prisons-1.

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