A Deputy Attorney General-designate, Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, has opposed calls for the abolishment of the death penalty from Ghana’s statutes.

The nominee believes Ghana is not yet at the level where it will do away with such a law.

Groups like Amnesty International Ghana have called on President Akufo-Addo, the Attorney General, and other stakeholders to immediately take steps to abolish the death penalty.

The group believes capital punishment robs victims of the basic right to life, hence must be expunged from Ghana’s laws.

But appearing before the Appointments Committee of Parliament on Tuesday, June 15, 2021, the Deputy Minister-designate disagreed with such calls.

According to him, such hasty decisions will not benefit the country in the long-term.

Alfred Tuah-Yeboah said, he subscribes to the full execution of capital punishments.

He added that “if murderers have to be killed, they should be killed”.

“I’m a realist and positivist. If we look at some of the murder cases that we’ve seen, especially when it comes to robbery with murder and the callous nature that some of them carry out those actions, I think we need to hold on [with the abolishment of such a law] for some time. [We shouldn’t abolish it] at this stage. I equally also hold this view that as it exists in the USA, if stakeholders may want to venture into grading murders, I subscribe to the full execution of their sentences. If the person is a murderer, and they have to be killed, they must be killed,” he said.

Ghana currently has about 160 persons on death row, five of whom were women. The country has not executed any of these persons for years.

The number includes six foreigners; a Beninois, two Burkinabes and three Nigerians.

Between March and June 2020, nine inmates who were on death row had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment.