The nominee for Chief Justice of Ghana, Gertrude Araba Esaaba Torkornoo, has called on Parliament to review the country’s death penalty laws.
The death penalty, she said, is “too final” and that Parliament needs to consider alternatives to capital punishment.
She said, “As a Justice of the Supreme Court, I am mindful of the fact that when cases come to court, it’s my duty to preside over it. But on a personal level, I do think that the death penalty is too final.”
“It’s something that I would be grateful if the legislative body can begin to look at it. In criminal law, we are always looking at the mens rea [guilty mind] and not just the actus reus [guilty act].”
“Sentencing is guided by law, so long as the law says it, I cannot say otherwise,” she added.
Torkornoo, who is a Justice of the Supreme Court was responding to a question on the matter when she appeared before the Appointments Committee of Parliament to be vetted. on Friday May 26
Ghana is currently considering whether to abolish the death penalty.
The country has not executed anyone since 1993 and is considered to be “abolitionist in practice” by Amnesty International.
Capital punishment is, however, still a legal penalty in Ghana. It is mandatory for certain offenses, such as murder. Seven new death sentences were handed down in 2021.
Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, if approved, will become the third female Chief Justice in the history of Ghana, after Justices Georgina Theodora Wood and Sophia Akuffo.
She replaces Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah, who retired as Chief Justice on May 24, 2023.