Judge explains why he sentenced Ataa Ayi

Accra, May 27, GNA- Two of the four Appeal Court Judges, nominated by President J A Kufuor to the Supreme Court, who appeared before the Appointments Committee of Parliament on Tuesday concurred to death penalty remaining on the statute books.

Justices Paul Baffoe-Bonnie and Ms Rose Constance Owusu held strong views in favour of capital punishment to serve as deterrent from very serious offences.

Justice Baffoe-Bonnie, who handed a 70 year sentence in the infamous armed robbery case involving Ataa Ayi and others, said he supported punishment which would result in death if it came from the Attorney Generals Department.

While discounting that he bowed to public sentiments and opinion at the time of the sentence, Mr Justice Baffoe-Bonnie said the 70 year sentence was a product of the judicial notice of public concern over the spate of armed robbery at the time.

The Nominee, who would be 52 in December debunked claims of younger age and undue preference of the President in choosing him over other colleagues on the bench to the top rank in the judicial service, and said at 52 he was quite old and had the necessary experience for the new position.

He named some of his mates at the Law School as former Attorney General Papa Owusu Ankomah, adding that the Minority Leader Mr Alban Bagbin and Hajia Alima Mahama were both his juniors at the Law School, and further cited an instance where someone was appointed to the Supreme Court at 47.

Mr Justice Baffoe-Bonnie argued that the Judicial Council and the Council of State had a way to torpedo his nomination if it were not right. He said everything must be done to decongest the prisons, and agreed to non-custodial sentences, but regretted that certain offences would necessarily demand that the accused was sent to prison.

Mr Justice Baffoe-Bonnie observed rather that armed robbery was on the increase in Ghana for three years now, and added that the 70 year conviction was done at the expense of his life.

He said people had lost confidence in the judicial system with resultant increase in mob justice, and the conviction had to take cognisance of the public sentiments. "There comes a time when people have to feel that robbery does not pay," the nominee said. He said corruption was a reality in the judiciary, with about 15 per cent involving judges, but added that the issue was exaggerated, explaining that during his practice in Kumasi, between almost 100 to 90 percent of both complaints were ready to 'see' the judge but only 10 percent actually 'see' the judge.

The modus operandi is through the bailiffs, court workers and even some lawyers who charge fees from clients to see the judge, but however cautioned that it was time for people to be made aware that corruption does not pay.

He advocated better working conditions for the Judiciary staff as a way of reducing corruption, saying, "if the salaries of judges were doubled or tripled, we'll very much like it.

Mr Justice Baffoe-Bonnie pointed out that there were now only five active out of the 13 conventionally appointed members of the Supreme Court, but added that the number could be increased, but not necessarily through a constitutional amendment.

He explained that much as he respected the principle of hierarchy of the court, he had to overrule a matter in which the Committee for Joint Action, a pressure group sought for clearance to stage a demonstration, when a higher court had ruled that they could stage the demonstration without permit.

According to Justice Baffoe-Bonnie, the police had indicated lack of personnel to guard the demonstrators, and would therefore not grant their applications since experience had shown that such demonstrations, intended to be peaceful rather turned out to be violent. He said in situations where pregnant women were convicted, they should be made to serve their sentence after delivery.

Ms Owusu, who was very strong on maintaining capital punishment on the statute books, said she would never advocate for its abolition. Using Biblical antecedents, Ms Owusu said: "I believe he who kills deserves to die also."

She said the state kills on the lawful orders of a court and added that in her experience as state prosecutor, it had never happened that it had turned out that an innocent person had been executed. "If that happens, once the person is executed, nothing can be done to bring the person back. May be that will be the lost of the person" Ms Owusu said when panelists tried to impress on her the new thinking of removing capital punishment national laws.

On corruption in the judiciary, she said it was to a greater extent a perception, and attributable it to delays in the judicial processes.

She said corruption would be reduced to the barest minimum if there are not "givers" adding that throughout the 20 years of her professional life, she had proved herself incorruptible adding that others had achieved the same feat.

"I wasn't prepared to compromise on any issue", she said. Ms Owusu the Judicial Service was faced with logistics problems and endorsed the suggestion to increase the 15 per cent of internally generated funds to care for the buildings and other infrastructure for the Service. She was of the opinion that there was no discrimination against women as their rights were constitutionally guaranteed.