NYORGBORSHIE WEMEGAH v. THE REPUBLIC
2015
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
- ADJEI, J.A. (PRESIDING)
- SOWAH, J.A.
- MENSAH, J.A
Areas of Law
- Criminal Law and Procedure
2015
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The appellant, convicted and sentenced to death for murdering a child in 1998, appealed against her conviction and sentence. She argued for reconsideration due to remorse, being a first-time offender, and having served ten years already. The court found no basis for reducing the murder charge to manslaughter and emphasized that only the President could alter the sentence. The appeal was dismissed, reinforcing the principles of Criminal Law regarding murder and appellate jurisdiction.
SOWAH, J.A:
The appellant was convicted on a charge of murder contrary to section 46 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 Act 29 and sentenced to death on 2nd November 2004 by the Ho High Court. Pursuant to leave granted by this court to file an appeal out of time, the appellant filed her petition of appeal against conviction and sentence on 20th August 2015.
The brief facts of the case were that the appellant who was a fetish priestess killed Etse Doamekporin, a four-year-old child with an iron rod in or about January 1998 and buried him in a shallow grave behind her room. The motive for the murder was to teach Etse’s mother who had insulted her a lesson. The jurors found the appellant guilty of murder and she was convicted and sentenced accordingly.
The four grounds of appeal filed by the appellant against conviction sentence are as follows:
1. The appellant deeply regrets her action and it is out of deep remorse that she is praying this honourable court to kindly reconsider her conviction and sentence.
2. The appellant is a first time offender who until the unfortunate incident had been a law-abiding citizen
3. The appellant has served ten years in prison custody and has learnt her lesson the bitter way.
4. The purpose of incarcerating offenders to reform and rehabilitate them for reintegration into society has been achieved over the long period that the appellant has spent in prison custody.
The relief she is seeking from this court is to temper justice with mercy, reduce the charge of murder to manslaughter and kindly substitute a more lenient and reformative sentence for the death penalty. This constitutes an appeal against conviction although it appears from a reading of the grounds of appeal that the appeal is actually against sentence only. The grounds of appeal will therefore be considered together.
It is provided by Criminal Offences Act, 1960 Act 29 sections 46, 47, 50, 51, 52 and 76 respectively that:
“Section 46 — Murder.
A person who commits murder is liable to suffer death.
Section 47 — Definition of Murder.
A person who intentionally causes the death of another person by an unlawful harm commits murder, unless the murder is reduced to manslaughter by reason of an extreme provocation, or any other matter of partial excuse, as is mentioned in section 52.
Section 50—Manslaughter.
A person who commits manslaughter commits a first degree felony.
Section 51—Definition of Manslaughter.
A person who causes the death of another p