On 5 October 2026, President John Dramani Mahama exercised the prerogative of mercy under Article 72 of the 1992 Constitution in favour of 863 convicted persons in commemoration of Ghana's 70th independence anniversary. According to the official announcement, 819 first offenders were granted outright release, together with 13 prisoners aged 70 years or above, 6 … Continue reading Presidential Pardons in Ghana: What Are the Legal Consequences?
Author: Selasi Kuwornu
Introducing Our Quarterly Newsletter: First Issue
Criminal Law Blog Ghana is pleased to introduce its quarterly newsletter: a free compilation of selected blog articles brought together around a shared theme. Our first issue, Rethinking Punishment in Ghana: Sentencing and Non-Custodial Justice, explores what punishment should achieve and how Ghana’s criminal justice system can balance accountability, public safety, rehabilitation, and reintegration. The issue … Continue reading Introducing Our Quarterly Newsletter: First Issue
Witness Contamination: When Good Evidence Becomes Unreliable – Part 2
Part 1 of this article examined how witnesses may be influenced before and during a police investigation through discussions with other witnesses, family members, social media, news coverage, suggestive questioning and translation. The risk of contamination, however, does not end when the police obtain a witness statement. It may continue when prosecutors meet witnesses to … Continue reading Witness Contamination: When Good Evidence Becomes Unreliable – Part 2
Witness Contamination: When Good Evidence Becomes Unreliable – Part 1
When people think about unreliable witness evidence, they often imagine a dishonest witness who deliberately lies to investigators, prosecutors or the court. In reality, some problematic witness evidence results from honest mistakes. A witness may genuinely believe that what they are saying is true and yet unknowingly provide inaccurate information. One reason this happens is … Continue reading Witness Contamination: When Good Evidence Becomes Unreliable – Part 1
Judicial Discretion Under Ghana’s New Community Service Bill
Introduction The passage of the Community Service Bill by Parliament is one of the most significant sentencing reforms in Ghana's criminal justice system in recent decades, comparable in significance to the repeal of the death penalty for certain offences. By introducing community service as an alternative to imprisonment for specified categories of offences, Parliament has … Continue reading Judicial Discretion Under Ghana’s New Community Service Bill
Part 2: What Happens After the Death of an Accused Person? Property, Exhibits and Forfeiture
This article is Part 2 of a three-part series examining what happens when an accused person dies during criminal proceedings. Part 1 explained how criminal proceedings generally come to an end upon the death of an accused person. This article examines a related but distinct question: what happens to property connected to the case after … Continue reading Part 2: What Happens After the Death of an Accused Person? Property, Exhibits and Forfeiture
Understanding Legal Aid in Ghana: Insights from a Legal Aid Practitioner
Access to justice remains a central component of Ghana’s justice system, yet many members of the public have limited understanding of the role played by Legal Aid officers and the challenges involved in providing legal representation to indigent persons. As part of Criminal Law Blog Ghana’s ongoing effort to highlight the work of criminal justice … Continue reading Understanding Legal Aid in Ghana: Insights from a Legal Aid Practitioner
Emerging Criminal Justice Reforms in Ghana: The Parole System
A fact many people do not know is that the conversation around parole in Ghana has been ongoing for some time. What is important to understand is that the idea of parole for convicted and sentenced prisoners is not foreign to Ghana’s criminal jurisprudence. The 1992 Constitution already makes room for it. Article 208 empowers … Continue reading Emerging Criminal Justice Reforms in Ghana: The Parole System
The Legal Shift in the Role of Complainants and Victims in Ghanaian Criminal Proceedings
Ghana’s criminal process has traditionally been structured around a simple principle: criminal cases are prosecuted in the name of the Republic, not the individual victim. While victims, often referred to as complainants, are central to proving the facts of the case, their legal role has historically been limited. They report the offence, assist the police … Continue reading The Legal Shift in the Role of Complainants and Victims in Ghanaian Criminal Proceedings
Part 1: What Happens to a Criminal Case When the Accused Person Dies?
This article is Part 1 of a three-part series examining the judicial processes that follow when an accused person dies in the course of a trial, and the principles that underpin them. What happens when an accused person dies in the middle of a trial? When an accused person dies while a criminal case is … Continue reading Part 1: What Happens to a Criminal Case When the Accused Person Dies?
