Video of 86-year-old prisoner at Nsawam brings up tears and problem with prisons
Crime Check Foundation (CCF) is shining light on the phenomenon of old people, some in their 80s, at the Nsawam Medium Security Prisons and other facilities.
Ghanaian law has no provision for parole that would see people either permanently or temporarily released based on good behaviour.
The justice system is also hit with thousands of individuals remanded into prison custody for years, an incidence contrary to the laws of the land.
In a video posted on their Facebook page on March 5, 2019, CCF founder visited some inmates of the medium security installment where he met a man who said he was 86-years-old.
The octogenarian might be more than 86 if it is true that he was born in 1931 as he claimed. Notwithstanding, he is one of many who society may never forgive because of a lack of legal provisions.
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Various other issues cropped up in the interviews that the CCF had with the inmates. Apart from the problem of the non-existence of a parole, the judicial system of Ghana looks like a situation that does not favour poor people.
Those among the interviewed who believe they were wrongly convicted all said they or their families could not afford to go on appeal because it was expensive.
Another problem that fell out from the interviews seem to be the lack of other means of punishment other than imprisonment. The Ghanaian judicial system either fines you or puts you in jail.
There are piles of problems that need looking into. It is a venture that will take political will which is currently and conveniently missing.
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Meanwhile, a former inmate of the Nsawam Female Prison, Theresa Amankwah, one of the imprisoned people who were famously given help by Black Stars player Christian Atsu, has died at the Korle-bu Teaching Hospital.
The late Amankwah was receiving treatment from the hospital, with financial support from the Black Stars player. Her help was arranged through Crime Check Foundation (CCF), a non-profit social justice organisation.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
