The Chief Executive Officer of the LADA Institute, Mr. Mark Ofori-Amanfo, has stated that a plea-bargaining law would be a useful criminal justice tool for addressing delays in trials and congestion in prisons.
Mr. Ofori-Amanfo was speaking at a workshop in Accra, to review a draft known as the Plea-Bargaining Bill.
He noted that the Bill when passed will significantly contribute to improvements in the justice delivery system.
The draft Plea-Bargaining Bill has been developed with inputs from stakeholders such as the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), Ghana Police Service (GPS), Judicial Service of Ghana (JSG), Ministry of Justice and Attorney General’s (AG) Department, the Legal Aid Commission, as well as justice-centred civil society organisations.
Mr. Ofori-Amanfo explained that plea bargaining serves as a system of resolving criminal matters through a process of negotiation in which an accused person enters into an agreement with the prosecutor to plead guilty to a lesser charge, or one or more charges in the case of multiple charges.
In exchange, the prosecutor may promise reduced or lenient sentencing, a dismissal of other charges, and a recommendation or promise as to the type of sentence to be expected, and/or the severity of the sentence.
He added that the accused persons may also receive such benefits if they agree to assist the prosecution with the investigation of the case in point.
The workshop, which was facilitated by the LADA Institute, on behalf of the Attorney- General’s Department, brought together prosecutors and legislative drafters from the AG’s Department, judges and other stakeholders in the criminal justice system.
The Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Mrs. Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa, who was present at the workshop, noted that although plea bargaining is provided for in some of Ghana’s laws, there is the need to have a comprehensive law that will expand its scope and regulate its usage in the criminal justice system.
She further stated that a well-regulated plea-bargaining system will provide an efficient and effective means of reducing criminal caseloads.
The issues of criminal case backlog and prison congestions remain at the centre of criminal justice reforms in Ghana.
According to the Judicial Service of Ghana Annual Report (2017-2018), a total of 2,330 criminal cases were pending before twenty-one High Courts, with some courts having over 800 cases, as of June 2017.
The number of cases pending before the seventy-two Circuit Courts stood at 14,549, while the cases recorded in the District Courts stood at 16,366.
Although the Justice for All Programme introduced in 2007 has contributed to reducing the number of inmates in the prisons, overcrowding still remains a major challenge.
The growing number of inmates in the prisons are largely due to delays in the trial of cases, contributing to the increasing number of remand prisoners, and long sentences imposed after trial.
The Plea-Bargaining Legislative Drafting project is supported by the US Department of State (Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs), and the US Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT).
In 2019, a US Embassy inter-agency team held a preliminary plea-bargaining workshop with key stakeholders to assess Ghana’s readiness for a Plea-Bargaining Legislation.
About 98% of the stakeholders present at the workshop were in favour of the expansion of the plea-bargaining regime in Ghana.
It is this overwhelming support, coupled with advocacy from lawyers and judges, that has resulted in the process of developing a Plea-Bargaining Legislation.