Resetting Criminal Justice — 2026 (Part 1)
Happy New Year to all. I send greetings and well wishes as we confront what the new year has in store for us.
It’s that time of the year when resolutions are made and targets are set, all in the name of bettering ourselves and, by extension, the society we live in.
It is in that vein that I pause to reflect on some of the shortcomings plaguing our criminal justice system.
Will 2026 be a year of real reform?
With the dawning of a new year, the usual rhetoric about justice reform resurfaces but the same patterns continue to play out: governments promise to strengthen the criminal justice institutions and deliver justice for all but the reality is quite different.
The same problem - delays in trials, overcrowded prisons, police misconduct and unequal access to justice - continue to cast a long shadow over our democracy.
Just walk into any court, police cell or prison today and you will be confronted with the stark reality of a broken down system that is slow as well as unequal.
We urge the powers that be to make 2026 a memorable year in the journey to true democracy via a fundamental reset and reform of the justice system.
There are many areas which need strengthening in the criminal justice system. In the coming weeks I will be covering them individually. One of the main areas where urgent reform is needed is to fix the inequalities. Poor and indigent citizens are always punished because of a huge unmet legal need.
The Legal Aid Commission has little or no impact in promoting access to justice.
Few people can access legal aid. Lawyers in private practice do not take on legal aid cases because of the massive difference in fees; legal aid cases attract only 20 per cent of the normal fees charged by lawyers in private practice.
It is painful to say but justice in Ghana often mirrors one’s social standing.
The poor are gaoled for stealing plantain while the powerful - accused of corruption or financial loss to the state - are granted endless adjournments and generous bail terms.
This perception, and often the reality, has corroded public trust in the judiciary.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Klottey Korley, Dr Zanetor Rawlings, has been highlighting this problem for some time now.
A lot needs to be done to eradicate the belief that there are parallel judicial systems for the rich and poor.
This is because a justice system that protects the privileged and punishes the powerless cannot command respect.
Another area that demands urgent attention is the endless remand tragedy - one of the most visible symbols of Ghana’s justice crisis.
According to available statistics, thousands of inmates continue to languish behind bars for years without trial.
The vast majority of remand prisoners have not been found guilty of any offence yet are treated no differently from convicted felons.
Even though the ‘Justice for All’ programme has reduced the remand numbers, it has not solved the structural causes of remand abuse: poor case management, lack of legal aid and administrative neglect.
There is also the problem of overcrowding in the prisons which remain a national embarrassment.
Buildings that were designed and built to hold 10,000 inmates now house more than twice that number. Overcrowding, poor sanitation and lack of proper health care are the norm.
The one great hope for incarcerated offenders – rehabilitation - has become an afterthought.
The promise of correction has given way to conditions that degrade and dehumanise.
As a result, prisoners often emerge from the system more broken and bitter, unable to reintegrate into society and thus are trapped in a vicious cycle of crime and reoffending.
There is also the issue of reintegration into society for people who have served their prison terms.
At the moment, there is not a national coherent system designed to ensure a smooth integration.
Many convicted prisoners come out of prison without any strong social or governmental programmes designed to facilitate their smooth reintegration into society.
Many of those released prisoners have lost friends and family as a result of the stigma of incarceration.
Problems like lack of housing, inability to land jobs as a result of their history and dire financial need inevitably lead most into reoffending.
The frequent recurrence of the problem, has convinced me to set up ‘Law and Human Rights in Action’ (LAHRIA) not only to help free wrongfully incarcerated persons but also to help in their proper integration into society.
