Private legal practitioner, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, a former lead convenor of the #FixtheCountry movement, has once again bemoaned the justice delivery system in Ghana, especially the role of the Ghana Police Service.
In a strongly worded post shared on X on Monday, January 29, 2024, Barker-Vormawor accused the police of resorting to intimidatory tactics to force persons in their custody into making statements that would implicate them.
He said that the police then use these statements, which are unconstitutionally retrieved from accused persons, to prosecute them without any proper investigation.
He indicated that what makes matters worse is that the courts also accept these statements without concern for how they were retrieved and the well-being of the accused persons, who are often starved and abused in police cells and use them (the statements) for convictions.
“In Ghana, judges can look at Police bring suspects who have been beaten to a thread of their lives; persons who have not been fed in days paa; and act completely disinterested in the welfare of accused persons.
“99% of police statements produced in court were taken without a lawyer present. And while Statements taken in denial of the right to counsel poison convictions everywhere, in Ghana they are the foundation of all criminal cases. Why are our courts so eager to convict? Only in Ghana do we have a conviction rate of nearly 100% for all criminal cases where the accused is not represented by a lawyer,” he wrote.
Barker-Vormawor added, “There’s zero concern for human dignity in our criminal justice system. And it’s appalling that we as a society, particularly the privileged ones among your lot, who have no shame in bribing police to get out of every situation, have resolved to look away!”
He said that the current system cannot continue because if care is not taken it would lead to serious consequences in the country.
“One day this town will explode from the routine-ness of injustice; and I for one, I’m here for that big-bang!”
Read his full post below:
Can I rant?
No matter how many times you tell clients to not say anything before their lawyer arrives. The Police always find a way to break their resolve through threats. It doesn’t matter whether they are educated or not. They all still write statements.
The refusal to grant them bail or threats to leave you to rot in the cells is now the most common tactic employed.
In many democracies, the courts are aware of this. So as soon as a person says I need my lawyer, all attempts to interrogate them must cease; and any statements made to you as a result of questioning without their lawyers being present is not admissible.
In Ghana, judges can look at Police bring suspects who have been beaten to a thread of their lives; persons who have not been fed in days paa; and act completely disinterested in the welfare of accused persons.
99% of police statements produced in court were taken without a lawyer present. And while Statements taken in denial of the right to counsel poison convictions everywhere, in Ghana they are the foundation of all criminal cases.
Why are our courts so eager to convict? Only in Ghana do we have a conviction rate of nearly 100% for all criminal cases where the accused is not represented by a lawyer.
Think about this carefully. Our police conduct routinely some of the shoddiest investigations you will ever see on the planet. Yet they convict more people Successfully than NYPD or London Metropolitan Police or any other country with the most advanced crime labs and investigative techniques.
There’s zero concern for human dignity in our criminal justice system. And it’s appalling that we as a society, particularly the privileged ones among you lot, who have no shame in bribing police to get out of every situation, have resolved to look away!
One day this town will explode from the routine-ness of injustice; and I for one, I’m here for that big-bang!
Shalom!
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