The Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame has stated that plea bargaining holds potential for addressing financial and economic crimes.
The Minister opined that using plea bargains merely to recover proceeds of crime without an admission of guilt from the accused undermines the fundamental purpose of criminal law.
He made the remarks while speaking at the 41st Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime at Jesus College, University of Cambridge.
The event was on the theme “Suspect Assets.”
“The prosecutors will face a real risk of sacrificing their reputation and creating a false impression of having compromised their professional integrity and duty to prove the commission of an offence on the altar of making money for the State, or providing a shield from prosecution to accused persons,” the Attorney General said.
He called for a “delicate balance” in the application of plea bargaining to avoid unintended consequences.
He stated that plea bargaining should primarily be based on a clear acknowledgement of responsibility, particularly in cases of financial and economic crimes that directly impact public resources.
“Plea bargaining should, as much as possible, be entered into on the basis of a clear acknowledgement of responsibility for the commission of a crime,” he stated.
He was also quick to admit that there might be situations where a plea agreement or Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) could be justified without an admission of guilt.
“It is only when the commission of an economic crime may be impossible to prove, or the necessity for a trial is outweighed by more compelling considerations, that a plea agreement or DPA, which is not founded on an admission of liability, may be entered into,” Dame concluded.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
