REPUBLIC vs. AGYIRI ALIAS OTABIL

JUDGMENT OF TWUMASI J. There is a well established principle of law that a voluntary confession by an accused person to the commission of the crime charged is sufficient to support conviction of the accused: see Practice Note (State v. Aholo) [1961] G.L.R. (Pt. II) 626, S.C.; R. v. Omokaro (1941) 7 W.A.C.A. 146 and State v. Otchere [1963] 2 G.L.R. 463, S.C. Therefore the onus lies on the prosecution to prove that the confession statement was voluntary, in other words, the prosecution must prove that there was no inducement by threat or duress or promise held out to the accused by a person in authority, e.g. a police officer: see R. v. Barimah (1945) 11 W.A.C.A. 49. In the instant case, the accused, like the accused in R. v. Bodom (1935) 2 W.A.C.A. 390, alleged that he was handcuffed and severely beaten by the police and forced to make a confession by thumb-printing a written statement and that he did not even know the contents of the statement. He showed to the court, scar marks on...