With the unanimous votes by Sierra Leone’s Parliament to abolish the death penalty, Sierra Leone would be the 23rd country in Africa to abolish the death penalty, if President Julius Maada Bio signs the Bill into law.
And the chances are high that the President would sign the Bill because, after its passage by the lawmakers, Bio thanked the citizens, members of parliament, and rights groups, saying they had “steadfastly stood with us to make history.” x
During the lively debate in the 146-seat legislature on Friday, Mathew Nyumah, the parliamentary leader of the governing Sierra Leone People’s Party, urged lawmakers to vote for abolition.
Sierra Leonean lawmakers voted to abolish the death penalty Friday, becoming the latest African country to move toward banning capital punishment.
A majority of MPs voted in favor of an amendment abolishing the death penalty, according to an AFP journalist who was present in the chamber.
Capital punishment will be replaced with life imprisonment or a minimum 30-year jail term for crimes such as murder or mutiny.
No execution has taken place in the country since 1998, and death sentences have often been commuted.
But Sierra Leone, which is still recovering after decades of civil war, has frequently come under fire from rights groups for keeping capital punishment on the books.
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