Mr Godfred Dame
In response to the jury's 2015 verdict in the murder trial of Adams Mahama, Upper East Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the Attorney General (AG) is taking measures to address the systemic flaws identified in Ghana's jury system.
The Accra High Court sentenced AsabkeAlangdi to death by hanging for conspiracy to commit murder, while ordering a retrial of Gregory Afoko for the murder of Mahama.
The remedy of the (AG) is included in proposed amendments to numerous sections of the Criminal Procedure Laws of Ghana.
Mr. Godfred Yeboah Dame, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, issued and signed a statement in response to the divided jury verdict announced by the seven-member jury on some of the charges against the accused last Thursday.
It stated: "The Attorney-General respectfully requests that members of the public, including attorneys, be guided accordingly and refrain from comments that have an undue tendency to jeopardize the administration of justice."
The jury returned a verdict of guilty for Alangdi on the charge of conspiracy to commit homicide, but a verdict of not guilty for Afoko.
The accused and the convicted were detained on two counts of murder and murder conspiracy.
"In the case at hand, particularly, the verdict of the jury regarding the guilt of the second accused (Alangdi) for conspiracy to commit murder, whilst delivering a hung verdict in the case of the first accused on the same charge, highlights the severe difficulties with the jury system," the statement reads.
The Attorney General stated, "For the crime of conspiracy to commit murder, the evidence revealed that the two defendants agreed to act together with the common intent to commit murder."
According to Article 19 (2) of the Constitution, the accused were tried by a judge and jury (with the jury determining whether or not the accused were guilty) for crimes carrying the death penalty.
"For the crime of homicide, the jury's verdict must be unanimous. Any verdict in a capital case that is not unanimous is null and void, indicating that the jury was unable to reach a decision or resulted in what is commonly known as a "hung jury."
The statement clarified that in accordance with Section 285 (1) of the Criminal and other offence (Procedure) Act, 1960 (Act 30), the justice of appeal, sitting with an additional justice of the High Court, passed the mandatory death sentence on the two defendants.
It was determined, by a vote of 4-3, that Gregory Afoko, the first defendant, was not guilty of conspiracy to commit homicide.
According to the statement, the lack of unanimity in the jury's verdict regarding the crime of murder, for which both defendants stood trial, and the crime of conspiracy to commit murder in the case of the first defendant, Gregory Afoko, necessitated a new trial.
It stated: "The laws of Ghana required the accused to be tried before a new jury under the circumstances. The Republic is obligated to comply.