The Ghanaian Criminal System - ModernGhana.com

Too often the criminal justice system is pronouncing people guilty without evidence, lawyers, or a chance to plead their case.

Yesterday, people across Cocoa Affair Court in Accra, the city of Ghana pleaded guilty to crimes they didn't commit. This isn't something new or extraordinary. Every year, the Ghanaian criminal system punishes thousands of people who are not guilty. These routine wrongful convictions never make it into headlines because they are unnoticed.

As we all know, just because a person is charged with a crime it does not mean that they are guilty. The principle of innocent until proven guilty still holds true and for this very reason the defendant must have rights in court.

Petty offenses like trespassing, disorderly conduct, or loitering are largely ignored because we are usually focused on the felonies?the rapes, murders, drug crimes, and robberies. But felonies are actually exceptional.

In Ghana, once police arrest someone, it is up to prosecutors to decide whether or not to charge the person with a crime. The system depends heavily on prosecutors to decline cases that lack evidence. But prosecutors often fail to screen deep into the case precisely because they are seen as insignificant, and instead charge all petty arrestees on whatever basis the police arrested them.

Studies by Ernest, a Computer Network Engineer with Excel Business Systems reveal that prosecutors declined only 3 or 4 percent of information communication technology crime cases. When people are arrested for frauding others by the use of computers, the investigations into the case is not base on ICT but the crime the person has committed so the computing part is disabled and shut so there are no trace or track evidence of the number of persons involve and Internet Service Providers (ISP's) always goes scout free from been arrested or apprehended.

Cases also like group of young boys arrested for hosting client servers for telecommunication companies should be down away with totally. Come to think of it, who is the complainant? And how does using VoIP affect someone in Ghana. But I was totally shocked when I saw on TV and read on the internet and other Ghanaian newspapers how some of these young boys were arrested, harassed, pushed to court quickly without any evidence.

I think our Police administration needs more education on Computer Security and Information, I am using iPhone 5gs, BlackBerry and Nokia x2, I have Skype on my BlackBerry, I have Viber, Skype on my iPhone, I have Whatsapp on my Nokia, What crime are these applications to use in Ghana? So why is our Police chasing persons with servers who uses VoIP? May be they have been misinformed about the use of the software.

In jurisdictions like these, 96 percent of arrests convert automatically into criminal charges.

Once charged, suspects have little choice but to plead guilty. And as I said earlier, many of these suspects will not get lawyers, and courts rush cases through in order to clear crowded dockets.

And even if the suspect get lawyers, most of the lawyers knows NOTHING about Information Communication Technology (ICT) but will take huge sums of money and will never appear again I the court upon the first appearance at court which is the introduction of the suspect and his docket to the court.

Jailed defendants may plead just to go home. As a result, a person arrested for a so-called SIM Box Syndicate offense is likely to get charged with it and to plead guilty to it, even if there was no real evidence in the first place.

I have a friend who was recently arrested on two different charges. He was never read his rights, but he has been fingerprinted and reasons for his arrest and put to court are wrong. Ghana Police Service is the ONLY institution that can put suspect before court and will be looking for evidence!

Also, the one charge is false because he was using VoIP and was arrested and charged for SIM Box Syndicate whiles the Police cannot yet show any evidence of such charges apart from the fears they instilled in him and his other friends to say?

I'm writing this for my friend. he was arrested last year. The Police arrested him and his other friends from different locations on charges of Frauding the state by hosting client servers for companies outside Ghana which up till date they cannot find any good evidence to and even the National Communication Authority and Vodafone Ghana who followed the Police in making the arrest always refused to come to court when the case is called.

My friend was arrested by the Police together with the National Communication Authority and certain staffs from Vodafone Ghana and they stole his brand new Mobile phone, Watches and unknown amount of currencies from his room. He was detained, taken to court. The case is still pending as the Police Administration is handicap in ICT to know the difference between VoIP and somebody Stealing money from the state by Hacking into other registered Telecommunication; he is on bail now with his friends and is still haunting him. He lost his job, car, all his possessions and cannot even do volunteer work. All his attempts to get this clear has proved that there is no justice.

This is what you need to Know;
Bail
If you are questioned, but not charged, the Police can release you on bail on the basis that you must come back for further questioning at a later date. If you have been charged they can still release you on bail unless:

There is a suspicion that you have not given your correct name and address

You are a threat to yourself or others
You will abscond
They can also give you conditional bail citing where you must live or a curfew etc.

If the Police have kept you in custody then the Court can decide to give you bail, conditional or otherwise, and they can decide that you needed to be kept in custody if:

You will abscond
There is a strong possibility you will commit further offences

You will threaten or otherwise interfere with witnesses

Representation
The rules and procedures governing the Court system are nothing short of a mystery to the majority of people, no matter how many crime dramas you watch. That is why it is always in your best interest to obtain your own legal representation. There is nothing stopping you defending yourself, in fact you have a right to do so if you wish, but the situation is likely to be emotionally charged, as well as complex, and it may be best to have someone who is not as close to the situation as you are; someone who can guide you through it all with a clear head.

Trial
If you plead not guilty to the charge against you the Court will set a date for your trial. You and your solicitor will then need to make arrangements for any witnesses you need to be available at that time.

When the proceedings start the Prosecution will open the proceedings and set out their case against, stating exactly how they intend to prove you guilty of the crime. You should bear in mind that that 'Burden of Proof' is on them, not you. They are required to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that you are guilty. It is not for you to prove that you are innocent.

Once the prosecution has finished setting out their case it then becomes your turn, along with your defence team, to open your case and set out all the ways in which they will prove that you are not guilty. Your witnesses and evidence will be called and only when both teams have spoken will the Jury will be allowed to consider all of the information given to them.

Sentence
If you are found guilty at trial, or if you plead guilty at the outset, the Court must then decide on a suitable sentence. They are required to take account of all mitigating factors, not just look at the crime itself. The options available to the Court range from Compensation orders to full custodial sentences.

There are more coming, I wonder why our Police fight against what they don't know and understand whiles the same the same people misinforming the Police are the same persons frauding this country. God bless our homeland Ghana

And make our nation great and strong,
Bold to defend forever
The cause of Freedom and of Right;
Fill our hearts with true humility,
Make us cherish fearless honesty,
And help us to resist oppressors' rule
With all our will and might for evermore.

Source: http://www.modernghana.com/news/442992/1/the-ghanaian-criminal-system.html

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