[2015]DLSC3225 • June 11, 2015 • Supreme Court •
DODZIE SABBAH vs. THE REPUBLIC
The appellant, Dodzie Sabbah, was arrested in January 1993 and charged with conspiracy to murder and murder alongside his brother. Convicted and sentenced to death in 2001, he spent over 11 years in custody including time on death row. His conviction was quashed on appeal in 2004 due to jury misdirection, and he was acquitted. He applied for compensation under Article 147 of the 1992 Constitution, claiming damages for wrongful imprisonment and associated losses. The Court of Appeal dismissed his application, finding the trial and prosecution regular and devoid of abuse. The appellant appealed to the Supreme Court.
read moreWOOD (MRS.) CJ, Article 14(7) of the 1992 Constitution provides an extra layer of protection to personal liberty, consolidating the guaranteed fundamental human right to liberty enshrined in article 14 (1) of the 1992 Constitution. It states: “Where a person who has served the whole or a part of his sentence is acquitted on appeal by a court, other than the Supreme Court, the court may certify to the Supreme Court that the person acquitted be paid compensation; and the Supreme Court may, upon examination of all the facts and the certificate of the court concerned, award such compensation as it may think fit; or, where acquittal is by the Supreme Court, it may order compensation to be paid to the person acquitted.” The full scope and effect of article 14 (7) has however never been subjected to judicial scrutiny since the coming into force of the 1992 Constitution. The dominant question in this appeal centres on the grounds on which an appellate court, other than the Supreme Cour...