Criminal justice reforms must protect the vulnerable

On October 25, 2021, the Daily Graphic published the shocking news of a farmer, Kwabena K Huletey, 41, who spent five years on remand even after a court had struck out a murder case against him.

He was accused of killing his girlfriend in 2015 at Akuapem Adoso in the Eastern Region.

The case was, however, struck out by the Akuapem Mampong District Court on December 15, 2016 after an autopsy report revealed that the girlfriend died from pneumonia and, therefore, was not killed by Mr Huletey as alleged by the police.

Having the case struck out meant that Mr Huletey had been discharged as a free man, but instead, the police investigator handling the case took him back to the Koforidua Prison where he (Huletey) was already on remand for him to further languish in jail.

It was not until October 19, 2021 that Mr Huletey regained his freedom through the Justice for All Programme (JFAP), an initiative meant to decongest prisons, organised by the Judicial Service in conjunction with the Attorney-General (A-G’s) Department and the Ghana Prisons and Police Services, with the POS Foundation, a civil society organisation, as the facilitator.

The case of Huletey highlights how the criminal justice system that is supposed to serve justice can become a means of injustice or as a Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Yonny Kulendi, puts it, the “wickedness” in the system.

It will not be out of place to say that there are many similar cases or even worse cases that have gone undetected, with many innocent people bearing the brunt of such “wickedness”.

It was, therefore, welcome news when the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, announced last week that his outfit had tabled before the Cabinet a bill that would reform the criminal justice system.

Under the new bill, there would be provision for alternative jurors so that in the absence of one, the alternative juror(s) would fill the vacant seat to ensure that the trial was not put on hold.

It also seeks not to make it compulsory for all cases currently being tried by a jury to allow the A-G to recommend to the court the manner of trial to be adopted – whether it should be a summary trial (trial by only a judge) or trial on indictment (by a judge and a jury).

Also, the bill will ensure that interlocutory appeals in criminal proceedings will be prohibited until the prosecution has closed its case or what is termed as the ‘submission of no case’ stage.

Additionally, the bill has other stipulations, including providing for cases to be heard on a day-to-day basis, introducing the taking of evidence through video conferences, and proposing that no criminal case should be adjourned beyond 14 days.

The Daily Graphic realises that the new bill seeks to reduce the unnecessary delays in criminal proceedings and to give impetus to the adage: “Justice delayed is justice denied.”

Although we welcome the new reforms, we believe it is not wide-reaching enough to protect the vulnerable, the poor and the less privileged from the seeming injustice that sometimes creeps into our criminal justice system.

We have a criminal justice system built on the foundation of fair hearing as stipulated by Article 19 of the 1992 Constitution, and this means that an accused person must have all the adequate time and facilities, including the access to a lawyer, to help advance his defence.

However, many vulnerable persons and the poor accused of crimes are unable to afford the services of lawyers, while the Legal Aid Scheme, which is supposed to come to their aid is also inundated with numerous cases and can, therefore, not support many accused persons.

We acknowledge the numerous initiatives by the A-G such as the Legal  Aid Fund, which seeks to augment the resources of the scheme, but we call for extensive reforms that will enable the scheme to live up to its mandate of helping the poor with legal services.

Another area of the criminal justice system that needs to be reformed is compensation for people wrongly arrested, charged, remanded or convicted.

Although Article 14(7) of the Constitution provides for how a person acquitted of a crime but who has served time can apply for compensation from the Supreme Court, we need more reforms that would provide for compensation for others who have suffered injustice under our criminal justice system.

Our criminal justice system must not be a tool to oppress the vulnerable and the poor but a means through which justice is served for all.