Konadu (not actual identify) was a farmer who owned a cocoa farm. She met her husband, Jojo (not his actual identify) and alongside the road, they gave start to three kids.
Konadu was additionally a businesswoman. She traveled to Ivory Coast and left her farm within the care of her husband. When she got here again, her husband had expanded the farm and it was doing fairly properly.
Nevertheless, there was an issue. Her husband refused handy over the farm to her. After many months of confusion, the matter was lastly introduced earlier than the chief, who gave a ruling.
Regardless of the intervention, Jojo refused to honor the phrases prescribed by the chief.
The matter was lastly taken to court docket. The court docket dominated that because the couple had kids, the farm needs to be divided into three components.
One half will go to the husband, the opposite to the lady whereas the opposite half was for use to deal with the kids. A collection of misunderstandings erupted when Jojo sacked the kids from their portion of the farm, arguing that that they had no proper over it.
Konadu determined to confront him on the farm and the matter escalated. Jojo beat her up mercilessly, and he or she sustained a number of levels of cutlass cuts on her physique.
In retaliation, Konadu ambushed Jojo on his approach from the farm and hit him with a stick behind his head. He collapsed on the spot. She realised she may need hit him a bit too onerous when she seen bloodstains on the stick she had used.
She rushed to tell her brother concerning the incident. The 2 instantly reported the incident to the police who got here to fulfill Jojo in a pool of blood. Whereas dashing him to the hospital, Jojo died on the best way.
This was the start of Konadu’s woes.
The story of Konadu is unhappy and revealing. Unhappy due to the circumstances that landed her on demise row in Ghana. Revealing, as a result of it throws mild on the necessity to rethink demise as a type of punishment for sure crimes.
That is necessary as a result of the demise sentence legislation in Ghana doesn’t give room for Judges to think about particular circumstances that result in the demise of a person.
For instance, if judges had the chance to think about particular circumstances that result in the lack of life, many on demise row might have been charged with offenses similar to manslaughter.
That is nonetheless not the case in Ghana as a result of the Legal and Different Offences Act 1960 (Act 29) prescribes the obligatory demise penalty for sure offenses and bars judges from contemplating particular circumstances which will have mitigatory results in every case earlier than them.
There are numerous extra individuals on demise row in Ghana with comparable tales.
Konadu’s story is a transparent case of gender-based violence, which she suffered by the hands of her husband, Jojo. Though the circumstances that led to the demise of her husband may very well be attributed to a pre-determined plot to harm him, her intention was to not kill him.
The truth that she reported the incident to the police instantly, and the person died on the best way to the hospital have been sufficient causes for the decide to have commuted her sentence to life imprisonment or different sentences other than the demise penalty.
In October 2021, Isaiah Andrews of Cleveland, Ohio, was discovered not responsible after spending 45 years in jail for the demise of his spouse in 1974. Andrews is now 83 years previous, and he’s free to reside his life after spending 45 years of his life in jail whereas he was harmless.
Ricky Jackson spent 39 years on demise row, having been convicted in 1975 for the homicide of Harold Frank. Ricky was simply 18 years previous when he was convicted after 12-year-old Eddie Vermon testified that he noticed the assault. Prosecutors dropped the costs towards Ricky when Eddie Vermon recanted and admitted that he didn’t witness the crime in any respect.
The potential of wrongfully convicting an harmless particular person to demise is proof of the unreliability and arbitrariness of the demise penalty.
Konadu is now 83 years, and he or she has spent greater than 40 years on demise row. She was sentenced to demise when she was 42 years and has since not seen her kids.
At this time, Konadu is weak, her eyesight is failing and he or she is battling together with her well being. As an previous girl, she has develop into too weak to even fend for herself. Even when she have been a hardened felony or assassin, an 83-year-old girl with poor imaginative and prescient, who can barely stroll or transfer can’t be thought-about a hazard to society.
“If I have been killed, it could be higher than being right here”, one inmate advised Amnesty Worldwide.
At the moment, 165 individuals are on demise row in Ghana. No executions had taken place since 1994 however the legislation continues to be utilized as a compulsory sentence as contained within the Legal and different Offences Act.
We have to Abolish the demise penalty.
