Source: http://www.deathpenaltyworldwide.org/country-search-post.cfm?country=Sierra%20Leone
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 04:35:40+00:00

Document:
BBC, Country Profiles: Sierra Leone Profile, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14094377, May 21, 2013.
 U.N., Composition of macro geographical (continental) regions, geographical sub-regions, and selected economic and other groupings, http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm, Oct. 31, 2013.
 Amnesty Intl., Sierra Leone: Execution of 24 soldiers after an unfair trial: a blow to reconciliation in Sierra Leone, AFR 51/020/1998, Oct. 19, 1998. Amnesty Intl., Death Penalty: Countries Abolitionist in Practice, https://www.amnesty.org/en/death-penalty/countries-abolitionist-in-practice, last accessed Apr. 3, 2014.
 Criminal Procedure Acts of Sierra Leone, art. 211, Law No. 32 of 1965, Oct. 7, 1965.
 The New York Times, 24 Linked to Coup Executed in Sierra Leone, http://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/20/world/24-linked-to-coup-executed-in-sierra-leone.html, Oct. 20, 1998.
 Mohamed J. Bah, 45 inmates condemned to death, Awoko, https://awoko.org/2019/01/21/sierra-leone-news-45-inmates-condemned-to-death/, Jan. 21, 2019.
 Amnesty Intl., Death Sentences and Executions 2018, p. 40, 50/9870/2019, Apr. 10, 2019.
 Amnesty Intl., Death Sentences and Executions 2017, p. 35, ACT 50/7955/2018, Apr. 12, 2018.
 Amnesty Intl., Death Sentences and Executions in 2009, ACT 50/001/2010, Mar. 30, 2010.
 Amnesty Intl., Death Sentences and Executions in 2008, ACT 50/003/2009, Mar. 24, 2009.
 Amnesty Intl., Death Sentences and Executions in 2007, ACT 50/001/2008, Apr. 15, 2008.
 Amnesty Intl., Sierra Leone: Execution of 24 soldiers after an unfair trial: a blow to reconciliation in Sierra Leone, AFR 51/020/1998, Oct. 20, 1998. Amnesty Intl., Death Penalty: Countries Abolitionist in Practice, https://www.amnesty.org/en/death-penalty/countries-abolitionist-in-practice, last accessed Apr. 3, 2014.
According to reports by organizations and media, murder is punishable by death and may be punished by the mandatory death penalty.
Amnesty International reported in 2009 that the draft Constitution provides for the death penalty for murder.  We found no recent information on the status of this draft Constitution.
Amnesty International reported in 2009 that the draft Constitution provides for the death penalty for robbery with violence.  We found no recent information on the status of this draft Constitution.
Reports indicate that treason is a death-eligible offense.
Amnesty International reported in 2009 that the draft Constitution provides for the death penalty for treason.  We found no recent information on the status of this draft Constitution.
We found no laws prohibiting capital punishment for individuals suffering from mental illness at the time of sentencing or execution of sentence.
 Reuters, Man to die for ritual murder, News24, http://www.news24.com/xArchive/Archive/Man-to-die-for-ritual-murder-20020911, Sep. 11, 2002.
 The Death Penalty Project, Sierra Leone, http://www.deathpenaltyproject.org/where-we-operate/africa/sierra-leone/, last accessed Mar. 7, 2014.
 Amnesty Intl., Death Sentences and Executions in 2011, p. 50, ACT 50/001/2012, Mar. 27, 2012.
 Amnesty Intl., Death Sentences and Executions in 2013, p. 46, ACT 50/001/2014, Mar. 27, 2014.
 Amnesty Intl., Death Sentences and Executions in 2008, p. 20, ACT 50/003/2009, Mar. 24, 2009.
 Amnesty Intl., Sierra Leone: Execution of 24 soldiers after an unfair trial: a blow to reconciliation in Sierra Leone, AFR 51/020/1998, Oct. 20, 1998. The New York Times, 24 Linked to Coup Executed in Sierra Leone, http://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/20/world/24-linked-to-coup-executed-in-sierra-leone.html, Oct. 20, 1998.
 Amnesty Intl., Sierra Leone: Amnesty International expresses dismay at 10 death sentences for treason, AFR 51/009/2004, Dec. 21, 2004.
 Mohamed Fofanah, Death Penalty-Sierra Leone: Successful Appeal Strengthens Case for Abolition, Inter Press Service, http://www.ipsnews.net/2008/12/death-penalty-sierra-leone-successful-appeal-strengthens-case-for-abolition/, Dec. 12, 2008. Lotta Teale, The Review of the Constitution: What the Report Says and Should Sierra Leone Make These Changes?, Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law, http://www.carl-sl.org/home/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=201:the-review-of-the-constitution-what-the-report-says-and-should-sierra-leone-make-these-changes&catid=10:commentaries&Itemid=21, Feb. 9, 2007. Amnesty Intl., Death Sentences and Executions in 2008, p. 20, ACT 50/003/2009, Mar. 24, 2009.
 The Death Penalty Project, Fornah v State, http://www.deathpenaltyproject.org/case_authorities/144, last accessed Mar. 7, 2014.
 Criminal Procedure Acts of Sierra Leone, art. 216, Law No. 32 of 1965, Oct. 7, 1965.
 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 Apr. 7, 2014. Status, Declarations, and Reservations, Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1577 U.N.T.S. 3, Nov. 20, 1989, http://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-11&chapter=4〈=en, last accessed Apr. 7, 2014. 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.
 Criminal Procedure Acts of Sierra Leone, art. 215, Law No. 32 of 1965, Oct. 7, 1965.
 Criminal Procedure Acts of Sierra Leone, art. 71(2), Law No. 32 of 1965, Oct. 7, 1965.
 Criminal Procedure Acts of Sierra Leone, art. 72, Law No. 32 of 1965, Oct. 7, 1965.
 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 Apr. 3, 2014.
 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 Apr. 3, 2014.
 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 Apr. 3, 2014.
 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 Apr. 13, 2014.
 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 Apr. 3, 2014.
 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 Apr. 3, 2014.
 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 Apr. 3, 2014.
Sierra Leone’s “foreign policy objectives” are constitutionally mandated to promote “respect for international law and treaty obligations” and regional and international cooperation,  but there is no reference to international human rights law.
There are no comprehensive resources on judicial decisions regarding death penalty. The last law reports were published in 1973.  One can access some judgments by the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court, and Special Court on the Sierra Leone Legal Information Institute website (http://www.sierralii.org/).
Yes. The Criminal Procedure Acts provides that any death-eligible offense tried before the Supreme Court shall be tried by a jury consisting of twelve men.  The law, which dates from 1965, implies that the Supreme Court has the jurisdiction to try murder and treason, two capital offenses.  We were unable to locate any amendments to the law or determine whether capital offenses are still tried before the country’s highest appellate court.
 The Constitution of Sierra Leone, art. 16, Act No. 6 of 1991, Oct. 1, 1991, as amended through to Jul. 31, 2008.
 The Constitution of Sierra Leone, art. 10, Act No. 6 of 1991, Oct. 1, 1991, as amended through to Jul. 31, 2008.
 Amnesty Intl., Sierra Leone to speed up death penalty abolition, AFR 51/001/2014, May 6, 2014.
 Rachael Hancock, Abolishing the death penalty in Sierra Leone, The International, http://www.theinternational.org/articles/500-abolishing-the-death-penalty-in-sierra-le, Feb. 18, 2014.
 Mohamed Fofanah, Death Penalty-Sierra Leone: Successful Appeal Strengthens Case for Abolition, Inter Press Service, http://www.ipsnews.net/2008/12/death-penalty-sierra-leone-successful-appeal-strengthens-case-for-abolition/, Dec. 12, 2008.
 Amnesty Intl., Death Sentences and Executions in 2008, p. 19, ACT 50/003/2009, Mar. 24, 2009. Rachael Hancock, Abolishing the death penalty in Sierra Leone, The International, http://www.theinternational.org/articles/500-abolishing-the-death-penalty-in-sierra-le, Feb. 18, 2014.
 Reprieve, Reprieve Review: Protecting the Human Rights of People Facing the Death Penalty, vol. 1, p. 5, http://www.reprieve.org.uk/static/downloads/Reprieve_Review_Volume_1_.pdf, Feb. 2005.
 Amnesty Intl., Sierra Leone: President Koroma must commute all death row prisoners, AFR 51/003/2009, Apr. 27, 2009.
 Amnesty Intl., Death Sentences and Executions in 2013, p. 46, ACT 50/001/2014, Mar. 26, 2014.
 Amnesty Intl., Death Sentences and Executions in 2012, p. 44, ACT 50/001/2013, Apr. 10, 2013.
 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., 63rd Session, 70th Plenary Meeting, pp. 16-17, U.N. Doc. A/63/PV.70, Dec. 18, 2008. 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., 65th Session, Note Verbale dated 11 March 2011, U.N. Doc. A/65/779, Mar. 11, 2011.
 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, para. 95, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/WG.6/11/SLE/1, Feb. 14, 2011.
 U.N.G.A. Human Rights Council, Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review: Sierra Leone, paras. 82.3-82.4, 82.14-82.25, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/18/10, Jul. 11, 2011. U.N.G.A. Human Rights Council, Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review: Sierra Leone: Addendum, pp. 2-3, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/18/10/Add.1, Sep. 13, 2011.
 Amnesty Intl., Death Sentences and Executions in 2011, p. 51, ACT 50/001/2012, Mar. 27, 2012.
 U.N.G.A. Human Rights Council, Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review: Sierra Leone, paras. 82.14, 82.16, 82.23-82.24, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/18/10, Jul. 11, 2011. U.N.G.A. Human Rights Council, Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review: Sierra Leone: Addendum, pp. 2-3, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/18/10/Add.1, Sep. 13, 2011.
 Hanatu Kabbah, Sierra Leone Legal System and Legal Research, GlobaLex, http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/sierra_leone.htm, Nov. 2006.
 The Constitution of Sierra Leone, art. 63(1), Act No. 6 of 1991, Oct. 1, 1991, as amended through to Jul. 31, 2008.
 Criminal Procedure Acts of Sierra Leone, arts. 131, 143, Law No. 32 of 1965, Oct. 7, 1965.
 Criminal Procedure Acts of Sierra Leone, arts. 130, 131(1), Law No. 32 of 1965, Oct. 7, 1965.
 Lennart Dodoo, Abolish the Jury System, Liberian Daily Observer, http://www.liberianobserver.com/node/6269, May 11, 2010.
 Criminal Procedure Acts of Sierra Leone, art. 212, Law No. 32 of 1965, Oct. 7, 1965.
 Criminal Procedure Acts of Sierra Leone, art. 213(1), Law No. 32 of 1965, Oct. 7, 1965.
 Criminal Procedure Acts of Sierra Leone, art. 213(1)(b), Law No. 32 of 1965, Oct. 7, 1965.
 Criminal Procedure Acts of Sierra Leone, art. 213(2), Law No. 32 of 1965, Oct. 7, 1965.
 The Constitution of Sierra Leone, art. 123, Act No. 6 of 1991, Oct. 1, 1991, as amended through to Jul. 31, 2008.
 The Armed Forces of the Republic of Sierra Leone (Amendment) Act, art. 130(1)(b), Aug. 17, 2000.
We did not find specific information on detention conditions for death-sentenced prisoners, but prison conditions in Sierra Leone as a whole are poor.
Only one person has been sentenced to death in recent years, and his sentence has reportedly been commuted.  It is therefore difficult to determine any observable trends in discriminatory sentencing.
 AdvocAid, 21 Days: Enough Time to Save Your Neck?, p. 1, http://www.advocaidsl.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/AdvocAid-Briefing-Paper-21-Days.pdf, Mar. 2011. Mohamed Massaquoi, Sierra Leone: Koroma Charged Over Death Penalty, AllAfrica, http://allafrica.com/stories/200904290793.html, Apr. 29, 2009.
 U.S. Dept. of State, 2013 Human Rights Reports: Sierra Leone, Prison and Detention Center Conditions, http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2013/af/220156.htm, Feb. 27, 2014.
 Mohamed J. Bah, 45 inmates condemned to death, Awoko, Jan. 21, 2019.
 Human Rights Watch, UPR Submission: Sierra Leone, p. 2, http://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/sierra_leone/session_11_-_may_2011/hrwhumanrightswatch-eng.pdf, Oct. 2010.
 Prison Watch Sierra Leone, Sierra Leone: Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review: 11th session of the UPR Working Group of the Human Rights Council, May 2011, p. 1, http://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/sierra_leone/session_11_-_may_2011/pwprisonwatchsierraleone-eng.pdf, 2011.
 Mark Warren, Foreigners Under Sentence of Death Worldwide, http://users.xplornet.com/~mwarren/world.html, Jan. 19, 2013. Amnesty Intl., Death Sentences and Executions in 2013, p. 46, ACT 50/001/2014, Mar. 27, 2014.
 Cheryl Sembie, affiliated with AdvocAid, email to DPW, DPW Sierra Leone Doc. E-1, Oct. 4, 2018.
 Amnesty Intl., Executions of Juveniles Since 1990, http://www.amnesty.org/en/death-penalty/executions-of-child-offenders-since-1990, last accessed Apr. 7, 2014.
 Sierra Leone Legal Aid Act, art. 20, Act No. 6 of 2012, Aug. 23, 2012.
 Sierra Leone Legal Aid Act, arts. 35(1), (3), Act No. 6 of 2012, Aug. 23, 2012.
 U.S. Dept. of State, 2013 Human Rights Reports: Sierra Leone, Trial Procedures, http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2013/af/220156.htm, Feb. 27, 2014.
 Human Rights Watch, UPR Submission: Sierra Leone, p. 1, http://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/sierra_leone/session_11_-_may_2011/hrwhumanrightswatch-eng.pdf, Oct. 2010.
 U.S. Dept. of State, 2013 Human Rights Reports: Sierra Leone, Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees, Trial Procedures, http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2013/af/220156.htm, Feb. 27, 2014.
 AdvocAid, 21 Days: Enough Time to Save Your Neck?, pp. 1-2, http://www.advocaidsl.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/AdvocAid-Briefing-Paper-21-Days.pdf, Mar. 2011.
 Sabrina Mahtani, UN Report Cites Abuse in Sierra Leone Prisons as Threat to Peace: Women Particularly Marginalised by the Country’s Legal System, SIHRG, http://sites.google.com/a/sihrg.org/africa/Home/Siarra-Leone, Sep. 2007.
 Sierra Leone Bar Association, Directory of Lawyers, http://www.barassociation.sl/index.php?option=com_qcontacts&view=category&catid=34&Itemid=55, last accessed Apr. 25, 2014.
 Amnesty Intl., Sierra Leone: Amnesty International submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review: 11th session of the UPR Working Group, May 2011, pp. 1-2, http://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/sierra_leone/session_11_-_may_2011/aiamnestyinternational-eng.pdf, Nov. 1, 2010. Human Rights Watch, UPR Submission: Sierra Leone, p. 1, http://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/sierra_leone/session_11_-_may_2011/hrwhumanrightswatch-eng.pdf, Oct. 2010.
 Amnesty Intl., Sierra Leone: Amnesty International submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review: 11th session of the UPR Working Group, May 2011, p. 2, http://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/sierra_leone/session_11_-_may_2011/aiamnestyinternational-eng.pdf, Nov. 1, 2010. Human Rights Watch, UPR Submission: Sierra Leone, p. 2, http://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/sierra_leone/session_11_-_may_2011/hrwhumanrightswatch-eng.pdf, Oct. 2010.
 U.N. ICCPR Human Rights Committee, Views of the Human Rights Committee under article 5, paragraph 4 of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/72/D/839/1998, Jul. 30, 2001.
 U.N. ICCPR, Human Rights Committee, Concluding observations on the initial report of Sierra Leone, para. 18, U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/SLE/CO/1, Mar. 25, 2014.
 U.N.G.A. Human Rights Council, Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review: Sierra Leone, paras. 82.3-82.4, 82.14-82.25, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/18/10, Jul. 11, 2011.
 U.N.G.A. Human Rights Council, Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review: Sierra Leone: Addendum, pp. 2-3, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/18/10/Add.1, Sep. 13, 2011.
 U.N.G.A., Human Rights Council, Assistance to Sierra Leone in the field of human rights: Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, p. 2, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/13/28, Feb. 12, 2010.
 U.N.G.A., Human Rights Council, Assistance to Sierra Leone in the field of human rights: Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, p. 4, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/13/28, Feb. 12, 2010.
 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, 223/98: Forum of Conscience / Sierra Leone, http://www.achpr.org/files/sessions/28th/comunications/223.98/achpr28_223_98_eng.pdf, Nov. 6, 2000.
AdvocAid, 21 Days: Enough Time to Save Your Neck?, http://www.advocaidsl.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/AdvocAid-Briefing-Paper-21-Days.pdf, Mar. 2011.
Amnesty Intl., Sierra Leone: Amnesty International submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review: 11th session of the UPR Working Group, May 2011, http://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/sierra_leone/session_11_-_may_2011/aiamnestyinternational-eng.pdf, Nov. 1, 2010.
Human Rights Watch, UPR Submission: Sierra Leone, http://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/sierra_leone/session_11_-_may_2011/hrwhumanrightswatch-eng.pdf, Oct. 2010.
Lilian Manka Chenwi, Towards the Abolition of the Death Penalty in Africa: A Human Rights Perspective, Pretoria University Law Press, 2007.
Prison Watch Sierra Leone, Sierra Leone: Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review: 11th session of the UPR Working Group of the Human Rights Council, May 2011, http://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/sierra_leone/session_11_-_may_2011/pwprisonwatchsierraleone-eng.pdf.

References: art. 211
 art. 216
 art. 215
 art. 71
 art. 72
 art. 16
 art. 10
 art. 63
 art. 212
 art. 213
 art. 213
 art. 213
 art. 123
 art. 130
 art. 20