Madina MP Francis-Xavier Sosu Urges Mahama to Commute Death Row Sentences to Life Imprisonment

The Member of Parliament for Madina, Francis Xavier Sosu, has announced plans to petition President John Dramani Mahama to set definite custodial terms for inmates on death row, following the recent abolition of the death penalty in Ghana.

Francis Xavier Sosu, a member of the Human Rights Committee of Parliament, stressed that commuting death sentences to life imprisonment must come with clearly defined terms to avoid undue hardship and ensure justice for the affected inmates.

“The president, in commuting them from the death row to life sentences, will rather commit them to definite terms. So, if we are to say that all those who have been here on the death row, until the passage of the law, are committed to 25 years imprisonment, then that way it will be consistent with the letter and spirit of Article 17 of the 1992 Constitution,” Francis Sosu told journalists during a visit to the Nsawam Medium Security Prisons in the Eastern Region on Monday, May 19, 2025.

He added, “I, together with the Human Rights Committee, will work together to send a petition to the president through the Attorney General to ensure that by the work of the committee, we can have some intervention from the presidency,” he stated.