Personal lawyer Samson Rady Anyeni argued that the 10-year jail sentence for former MASLOC chief government Sedina Tamakloe-Atinu is prone to begin from the day she is detained in Ghana, relatively than from the day the courtroom pronounces the sentence.
discuss Pleasure FM high tales On Tuesday, June 9, Mr. Anyeninyi stated that deciphering the regulation to imply that sentencing begins as quickly as a sentence is handed down, no matter whether or not the convicted particular person is in custody, will result in untenable authorized penalties.
In response to a query about when Mr Tamakloe Atinu’s sentence legally begins, he acknowledged {that a} literal studying of Article 315 may indicate that it begins the second the sentence is handed down. Nonetheless, he cautioned towards such interpretations.
“What’s attention-grabbing is that we interpret Article 315 actually as ranging from the second the sentence is handed down. But when we had been educated to use it in that sense, it might create an entire authorized absurdity. There is no such thing as a place within the regulation for such an absurdity that an individual who has been convicted and served a sentence is executed with out ever being detained,” he defined.
Anyenini famous that though some authorized commentators argue that the textual content of the regulation helps such a place, courts should interpret statutes in a manner that promotes justice and avoids unreasonable penalties.
Evaluating the authorized methods in different jurisdictions equivalent to the USA, United Kingdom and Nigeria, he stated imprisonment usually begins upon conviction.
“When you take a look at different jurisdictions, detention is the set off for beginning a sentence. Courts in the USA, the UK, and even Nigeria, the place the regulation is broadly just like ours, have determined that this doesn’t make sense. This creates an unacceptable authorized absurdity,” he stated.
Mr. Ayeninyi emphasised that the time spent as a fugitive doesn’t depend in the direction of the completion of the sentence.
“Sentence should start with detention. There might be no escape. You’re a fugitive from justice after which allegedly serve your sentence in absentia. Escape time should undoubtedly be eradicated,” he argued.
He warned that any interpretation on the contrary would undermine the aim of felony punishment and encourage these convicted to evade justice.
“In any other case, the absurdity that will probably be created will probably be unforgivable. It would fully overturn the regulation and put society in a silly state of affairs,” he stated.
He additionally pointed to worldwide observe, together with on the Worldwide Legal Courtroom, the place sentencing begins from the time a convict is transferred to a detention facility, relatively than when the sentence is handed down.
He additionally revealed that Atinu filed an attraction instantly after he was convicted and sentenced. He stated the attraction remains to be pending and will elevate additional authorized points.
Mr. Ayeninyi revealed that one of many grounds of attraction is difficult the severity of the sentence imposed by the courtroom.
“Among the many grounds of attraction was that 10 years was disproportionate, so we sit up for seeing how that goes,” he stated.
His feedback come amid renewed public curiosity within the authorized penalties of Mr. Atinu’s return to Ghana after being extradited from the USA to serve a 10-year sentence imposed after being discovered responsible in absentia within the MASLOC monetary loss case.
