Interior Ministry Presents Report On Custodial Sentencing to CJ


As part of efforts to reduce congestion in prisons, the Ministry of Interior has presented a report of a two day forum on non-custodial sentencing policy for Ghana to the judiciary.
 
Her Ladyship the Chief Justice, Justice Georgina Wood(Mrs) who received the report said from the perspective of the judiciary, Judges recognised the need to decongest the prisons and ensure that only those who truly ‘deserves’ to spend time in the prisons do so according to the law.

She added that the judicial service would ensure judicial training for Magistrates and Judges of the lower bench including the circuit court and the magistrate courts since they handled most criminal cases.

She said a court complex would be inaugurated soon to provide more court rooms for the judicial service.

Mrs Wood commended the Ministry of Interior and the Prisons Services for the bold step to help decongest the prisons in Ghana.

The Minister of Interior, Mark Owen Woyongo, who presented the report noted that it was observed at the forum that some non-custodial sentencing provisions already existed in the law books but these were not being applied by our judges.

He also suggested that judges should be trained and oriented to utilize the options available in current legal framework and reminded through continuous legal education to apply what existed in the law books.

“The interest of the Ministry of Interior is towards de-congesting the prisons especially in the recent developments at the Kumasi Central Prisons,” the minister said.
  
He appealed to the Chief Justice to continue to offer support and assist the Ministry to craft the appropriate legal framework for the expansion of the non-custodial sentencing options available to judges that would have a positive effect on decongesting the country’s prisons.

Source ISD