Gabon Abolishes the Death Penalty (or is about to...)

Hey! If Gabon can do it.....

Gabon Abolishes Death Penalty

The Gabonese government at its last weekly meeting announced that it intends to abolish the death penalty from its statute books. The government said the time was ripe for such a move as Gabon had not applied the death penalty in over 20 years.

The necessary legislation is expected to be submitted to parliament over the new few days for ratification. A spokesman for the Gabonese Government said the move was motivated by an "express request" from the Gabonese President Omar Bongo Ondimba.

The abolition of the death penalty will see Gabon join the ranks of countries in Africa that have abolished the death penalty. These include Angola, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles and South Africa.