An Appeals Court Judge, Justice Clemence Jackson Honyenuga, has revealed that he used to be a very hard judge while he served at the High Court.
However, his position as the head of the ‘Justice for All’ Programme had mellowed him, he said.
He told the eminent members of the Appointments Committee, chaired by Mr Joseph Osei Wusu, First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, that his knowledge about the conditions in which Ghanaian prisoners are kept has changed his mindset about humanity and made him a very soft person.
“I use to be a very, very hard judge when I was at the High Court, but since I took over the ‘Justice for All’ programme and seen the conditions in which my fellow human beings live in, the food they eat in the prisons, and the sufferings and the humiliations, that has changed my heart.”
He made this known when Mr Mubarak Muntaka Mohammed, Minority Chief Whip in Parliament, questioned on what he considers to be the worst mistake he has made on the bench and why, when he faced the committee yesterday to answer questions regarding his nomination to the Supreme Court.
Mr Honyenuga, together with three others were, nominated on March 19 by the President to replace justices on the Supreme Court bench who are due for retirement
Per constitutional requirements, the four have to be taken through a vetting process by Parliament to determine their eligibility as Supreme Court judges.
The vetting process commenced yesterday, and would end on Tuesday, May 12 with Professor Henrietta J.A.N. Mensa-Bonsu being the last to face the members of the Appointments Committee.
Explaining why he is now calm, the Appeals Court Judge said that he sat on a robbery and narcotics case, in which he sentenced the accused to a 65 year jail term due to the gravity of the crime. However, the conditions in which he saw prisoners in after taking over the ‘Justice for all Programme’ made him regret giving such a high number of jail term to his fellow human being.
“Well, when I was a High Court Judge, I sat on a robbery and narcotics case, and I remember that for a particular robbery case, which was very pathetic. The way it was planned; this man left the wife and deep in the night the wife and the kids were attacked, shot and injured. She was a teacher, they were seriously injured, and I had to try the robbery case.
“Unfortunately, I regret that I sentenced him to 65 years imprisonment. You know, it’s because of the gravity of the crime – the attack on the children and the woman who is a trained teacher. They shot at them and took away all the foreign exchange that the husband had.
“The husband had travelled so the lady was alone with the children and out of it I was high handed. I use to be a very, very hard judge when I was at the High Court.
“But since I took over the ‘Justice for All’ programme and seen the conditions in which my fellow human beings live in, the food they eat in the prisons and the sufferings, and the humiliations, that has changed my heart.”
Justice Honyenuga indicated his calmness had made him support those who believe the death penalty should be abolished in the country.
He disclosed also when Mr Haruna Iddrisu, Minority Leader in Parliament and Ranking Member of the Appointments Committee, sought his opinion on the death penalty.
“As I said earlier, I used to be a very hard judge, but I am now a born again, and, therefore, I am now for the abolition of the death penalty.”
He said he agreed with a report by the Constitutional Review Commission, which suggested that the death penalty should be substituted with life imprisonment without parole.
He indicated: “Since 1993, not a single person has been executed or hanged, they are all kept there; they don’t know their fate and are always there and are a burden on state resources, so I will say there should be a legislative action on this matter. Parliament should take steps to do that.”
The post I softened my stance on sentencing after seeing conditions in prison -Honyenuga appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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