The Attorney -General (A-G) and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has laid the bargaining bill before Parliament for consideration.
The bill will allow persons accused of certain offences not to face a jail term.
The Speaker of Parliament referred the bill to the Constitutional, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of Parliament after Mr. Dame laid the bill before the House on Friday, December 17, 2021.
The bill, which is an amendment to the Criminal and other Offences (Procedure) Act, 1960 (Act 30), is officially known as the Criminal and other Offences (Procedure) (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
When passed into law, the plea bargaining bill is expected to reduce the backlog of criminal cases in court by allowing accused persons to admit their guilt and enter into some form of arrangement with the prosecution, without necessarily standing trial or going to jail.
Elements of the bill include the right of an accused person to enter into plea bargaining with the prosecutor before judgment by the court, the format of the negotiations, and the entity authorized to conduct plea bargaining with an accused person, which is the A-G or an attorney from the A-AG’s office authorized by the A-G.
Other aspects are the benefits of plea bargaining for an accused person, what the agreement should entail and the option for either party (the prosecution and the accused) to withdraw from plea negotiations.
It also gives the court the power to either accept or reject a plea bargaining deal.
Some crimes which are exempted from the bill include treason, violent offences such as rape, genocide, robbery, kidnapping, murder, attempted murder, abduction, defilement, piracy, and offences related to public elections.
In order to guard against abuse, plea bargaining will be done only with the consent of the A-G, in line with his constitutional mandate under Article 88, and will be done under strict conditions.
Alternative sentencing
Apart from the plea bargaining bill, the A-G is also working on an Alternative Sentencing Bill, which will allow a court to sentence a convict to do community service and other options other than imprisonment.
CCF’s advocacy
Crime Check Foundation (CCF) has been advocating for the passage of the Non-Custodial Sentencing Bill into law. During his working visit to the James Camp Prison, the AG said the passage of the bills was his priority.
