Delay in trying criminal cases, gross injustice - Mr Justice Poku

Sunyani (B/A), Feb. 9, GNA - A supervising High Court Judge said tha= t the delay in forwarding serious criminal cases from lower courts to the=

high court for expeditious trial amounted to gross injustice against suspects and accused persons.

Mr. Justice Francis Kwabena Poku, in charge of the Brong-Ahafo Regio= n, on Monday expressed worry that murder and first degree felony cases have been pending before district courts in the region for more than 10 years. The Supervising High Court Judge was speaking at the opening of the criminal assize for the 2010 judicial year in Sunyani.

Mr. Justice Poku appealed to the Chief State Attorney for the region= to liaise with the police investigators responsible for those cases "to reme= dy this sad state of affairs which is an indictment on the judicial administration of criminal justice in the country". He said records of all those cases were available for collection and=

scrutiny by the police investigators and the Attorney Generals Department=

for appropriate and prompt action. Mr. Justice Poku said the situation undermined the provisions in the=

1992 Constitution and criminal jurisprudence that guaranteed fundamental liberties of individuals. He called on all stakeholders in the administration of justice to wo= rk hard to avert miscarriage of justice.

Mr. Justice Poku noted that the prisons and the police cells were crowded with detainees who lived in painful and anxious suspense. He stressed that the inadequate facilities and appalling conditions prevailing in the prison and police cells constituted inhuman treatment adding that some accused persons languished indefinitely in cells without=

trial. Mr. Justice Poku called on judges, court officials, lawyers, prison officials, prosecutors (State Attorneys and Police), jurors and the gener= al public (witnesses) to ensure speedy trial of cases. Mr. Okyere Antwi, Chief State Attorney for Brong-Ahafo, expressed regret that inadequate financing was hampering the role of the Police Service and Prison Service in the administration of justice. He appealed to government to provide adequate funds and logistics t= o enable institutions involved in the dispensation of justice to work expeditious. Mr. William Orleans Oduro, Brong-Ahafo Regional branch President of the Ghana Bar Association, commended government for the automation of some courts in the country but called on the authorities to ensure the right machines and personnel where provided for rapid dispensation of justice. 9 Feb. 10