DOUBTING THOMASES KILLING THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM-ALEX NARTEY

Mr. Alex Nartey, President of the Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSSAG) has said, doubting Thomases are the thorn in the flesh of our legal system.

He said lack of confidence amongst citizenry in the Judicial System amounts to suspicions of people accusing people over supposed crime or corruption.

Stakeholders at a roundtable on the need for Ghana to consider non-custodial sentences in cases of misdemeanour, called on Parliament to pass the Community Service Bill (non-custodial law) to help decongest the prisons and make them more effective.

Referring to the Ghanaian Judicial System, they said it was empowered with custodial sentencing.

Mr Jonathan Osei Owusu, the Facilitator for “Justice For All,” at the roundtable, organised by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), said the justice system of Ghana should be retributive whereby the offender would reform and victims would forgive, citing restitution, among others, which were found in the Tokyo Rules under the non-custodial sentences.

Mr Owusu said keeping the inmates whereby the place was already congested was a drain on the country’s budget and, therefore, proposed that non-custodial sentences should be considered in terms of misdemeanour (offences which attract sentences less than three years).

JUSSAG President who doubles as the ADR National Coordinator, Mr. Alex Nartey, speaking to Nana Ampratwum on Omanbapa Morning Show gave the benefits of the law if passed and and also suggested that, Ghanaians will turn around and make it's implementation difficult.

He explained that, the authenticity of some of the sanctions that will be served to public figures especially politicians and some big fishes will still be questioned and doubted by the citizens citing discrimination.

Mr. Nartey finally entreated Ghanaians to stop casting doubts and suspicions in the Judicial System but support and allow the process.