Armed Forces Bill, 2022 to replace Death Penalty

Parliament has passed the Armed Forces (Amendment) Bill, 2022, to replace the Death Penalty with life imprisonment.

The Bill seeks to amend relevant Sections of Act 29 and the Armed Forces Act, 1962 (Act 105) to replace Death Penalty with life imprisonment.

The purpose of the Bill is to amend the Armed Forces Act, Act 1962 (Act 105) to provide for life sentence in the administration of criminal justice.

The Private Member’s Bill was sponsored by Mr. Francis-Xavier Kojo Sosu, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Madina, moved the Motion for the House to pass the Bill into law.

When Speaker Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin put the Motion to a voice vote, it was passed.

Mr. Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi, the Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, in seconding the Motion noted that even though the Death Penalty had remained in the Armed Forces Act since it was enacted, the last time it was enforced was about four decades ago.

Adding that the provisions were therefore found in the statute but without enforcement.
He noted that the mere fact that there had not been any execution for over four decades, means the Death Penalty provisions in the Armed Forces Act had outlived its usefulness as a deterrent action.

He said it was extremely doubtful that the Death Penalty provisions in the Ghana Armed Forces Act served as a deterrent because even the most sophisticated empirical studies had failed to demonstrate any clear evidence of a deterrent effect from the use of the Death Penalty.

“The need has therefore arisen to amend relevant sessions of Act 105 to replace Death Penalty with life imprisonment to maintain a high level of certainty in the military justice system.”

Mr. Anyimadu-Antwi said considering that since 1993, no President had signed death warrant for the execution of those sentenced to death and the fact that the daily amount spent per prisoner does not vary in spite of the category of prisoners, it was appropriate to conclude that replacing Death Penalty with life imprisonment would not have any financial burden on the State.