The Center for Law and Innovation Policy, as part of the Justice Sector Reform under our Innovation Series and in execution of the SDG Goal 16 explores alternatives to conventional incarceration.
On the 30th of April, the Center for Law and Innovation Policy hosted a free online panel discussion, that brought together legal and industry experts; Evelyn Keelson, the Chief State Attorney and lecturer in Criminal Procedure at the Ghana School of Law, The Assistant Director of Prisons, Mr. Alex Ashun and Lady – Eileen Erskine, a legal practitioner and Head of Chambers for Cann Quashie & Co to thoroughly discuss and explore alternatives to incarceration.
The panel primarily focused on the criminal law system, the procedure after an offence is committed and reported to the authorities, offences and how they are categorized as well as the punishments/penalties provided for these offences in our criminal procedure code, especially petty offences and misdemeanors. Moving on, an insight into the current state of affairs in our prisons, depicting the deplorable conditions in our prison facilities, what pertains within prison walls, the different categories of prisons we have in Ghana and the impact of incarceration especially on first time and minor offenders.
They also explored alternatives to incarceration, dwelling especially on potential penalties for minor offences and discussing the options available in our codes as well as possibilities that have been used successfully in other jurisdictions including reformative efforts. For example: Community supervision, alternatives for nonviolent serious offenders, recourse to intermediate punishments in varying in degrees from house arrest perhaps with electronic monitoring and supervised probation or community service are being used successfully by other jurisdictions so that prison space can be reserved for violent and career offenders.
