Editorial: The Fate Of Remand Suspects

Following The Daily Democrat�s series of publication on the case of Richard Yeboah, and support from Joy Fm, the suspect, who had been on remand for six years, was finally discharged and released from custody. The case of Richard Yeboah once again brings to the fore the case of suspects who have been on remand for years without any serious attempt at releasing them. There is no gainsaying the fact that society abhors criminals and for that matter would wish to see them separated from law-abiding citizens, but it is also a fact that many of the people suspected to be involved in one criminal act or the other, are not culpable of the act. Much as there is the need to investigate cases thoroughly to ensure that the just is not unjustly punished and the unjust unjustly left off the hook, the system we find ourselves in leaves much to desire. The main cause of suspects being kept on remand for long is lack of logistics and personnel to follow through with cases. As a result, justice is regrettably becoming a preserve of the rich. If you don�t have relatives who can pursue your case for you from the day you may be suspected of a crime, then you are doomed. The reason many suspects have been condemned to rot in police or prison custody is the inability of their relatives to muster the necessary resources to go through a very rough, long and tough judicial process. The Police Administration lacks the resources to convey suspects from custody to the courts so they depend largely on support from relatives to convey suspects to court; so, in the absence of that support, the suspect automatically misses court sessions, thereby prolonging their stay in custody. All these contribute to the fate of suspects on remand, not forgetting the frequent adjournment of cases and the legal costs. The Daily Democrat has observed that the Attorney-General has started a process to look into the cases of suspects who have overstayed in custody but it appears they are restrained by the lack of resources (human and logistics) to facilitate the process. This paper is therefore calling on central government to show more interest in this issue to ensure that people are not denied justice for reasons not linked to them. Anybody could become the victim of this problem, so the earlier something is done about remand suspects, the better. There are many more Richard Yeboahs in the system, but unfortunately, they have no one to uphold their case for them. Government cannot fail such persons.