Introduction

One aspect of the law that has never recieved unanimous acceptance is the law of suicide. Countries have different notions regarding the law of suicide, of which my country Ghana is not exempted.

In some countries, whoever commits suicide is considered as “a felon of himself” and is punished by a seizure of his property to the state. The felon would also not get a befitting burial.In some countries, such as my homeland Ghana, it is not a crime to commit suicide; rather it is a crime to attempt commiting suicide.

The Legal Status Of Suicide In Ghana

Section 57 of the Criminal Offences Act states that ; (1) Whoever abets the commission of suicide by any person shall whether or not the suicide be actually committed, be guilty of first degree felony.
(2) Whoever attempts to commit suicide shall be guilty of a misdemeanour.
The subsection(2) of this Act needs to be abolished considering the facts that lots of people who attempts commiting suicides due to psychological issues resulting from loss of property, failed relationships, having a chronic disease, failure in academic examination etc etc.
Such people rather need a clinical psychologist instead of being prosecuted. My hope is that this law will be abolished worldwide.

Conclusion

To conclude, I'm not in any way in support of Suicide. However, instead of prosecuting people who try commiting suicide, we need to give them the needed attention and love to help them psychologically. This will go a long way to help them fight the battle of life.

Your comments are welcomed