JOSEPH ADAMS vs. THE REPUBLIC [2019]DLHC10117

Date	2019-10-07
Suit No.	CASE NO. CR/0167/2018
Citation No.	[2019]DLHC10117

JUSTICE GEORGE BUADI J.

NII K.K. AMASAH FOR APPELLANT

DOMINIC W. BAKOMA (SENIOR STATE ATTORNEY) FOR REPUBLIC/RESPONDENT)

[2019]DLHC10117
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >JOSEPH ADAMS<o:p></o:p>(CONVICT/APPELLANT)<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>THE REPUBLIC<o:p></o:p>(RESPONDENT)<o:p></o:p>[HIGH COURT
(CRIMINAL DIVISION, 5) ACCRA]<o:p></o:p><div style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none; border-image: initial; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 0cm 1pt;">

<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
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padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">CASE
NO. CR/0167/2018&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; DATE: 7TH OCTOBER 2019<o:p></o:p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:
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padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">DOMINIC
W. BAKOMA (SENIOR STATE ATTORNEY) FOR REPUBLIC/RESPONDENT) <o:p></o:p>

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mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">JUDGMENT ON
CRIMINAL APPEAL<o:p></o:p>

</div>&nbsp;On 29 December
2010, the Circuit Court<a href="file:///C:/Users/aggie/Desktop/2020-21/Criminal/Joseph%20Adams%20v.%20Republic%20(AutoRecovered)%20(AutoRecovered)%20(2021_01_25%2010_26_20%20UTC).docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title="">[1]</a>&nbsp; Accra convicted the appellant herein and four
other accused persons on two criminal offences - conspiracy to commit crime, and
robbery, contrary to s.23(1), and s.149
of the Criminal &amp; Other offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) respectively.<a href="file:///C:/Users/aggie/Desktop/2020-21/Criminal/Joseph%20Adams%20v.%20Republic%20(AutoRecovered)%20(AutoRecovered)%20(2021_01_25%2010_26_20%20UTC).docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title="">[2]</a> Though
the convicts including appellant pleaded not guilty to the charges, the circuit
court after full trial found each of them including appellant (first accused
(A1) person) guilty of the charges, and sentenced each to ten (10) years, and
forty (40) years imprisonment with hard labour respectively on the charges.<a href="file:///C:/Users/aggie/Desktop/2020-21/Criminal/Joseph%20Adams%20v.%20Republic%20(AutoRecovered)%20(AutoRecovered)%20(2021_01_25%2010_26_20%20UTC).docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title="">[3]</a> <o:p></o:p>&nbsp;The brief facts
are that on 28 June 2009, at about 7:30 pm, the appellant, a Nigerian national
together with four other convicts of Ghanaian nationality by the use of gun
attacked the complainant in this case (PW1) a trader at her home at Ashongman, Accra.
By the use a gun and threat of harm, the appellant and the other convicts succeeded
to rob the complainant and other persons in the house of valuable items including
cash amounts of assorted foreign currencies, mobile phones, jewelries, rings
and perfumes, etc, and bolted away. Upon SOS
alarm, neighbours gave the convicts a hot chase and succeeded in arresting the
appellant and handed him over to the police. Though the rest of suspects escaped,
the appellant led the police to fish them out of their hide-outs. <o:p></o:p>&nbsp;They were all arraigned
before the Circuit Court, Accra for trial on the aforesaid charges. Though they
all pleaded not guilty to charges, in its decision dated 29 December 2010 the court
found each of them guilty of the charges; convicted, and sentenced each to 10
years and 40 years respectively with hard labour. The appeal was filed pursuant
to leave of the Court.<a href="file:///C:/Users/aggie/Desktop/2020-21/Criminal/Joseph%20Adams%20v.%20Republic%20(AutoRecovered)%20(AutoRecovered)%20(2021_01_25%2010_26_20%20UTC).docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title="">[4]</a>
Represented by counsel, appellant does not impugn nor challenge his conviction;
neither does he dispute the sentence the court imposed. His appeal had been grounded
rather on a plea for “mitigation of [the] sentence from 40 years to 7 years”,
saying that he is “[f]irst time offender”, and that he “[h]as learnt his
lessons and will never have a brush with the [l]aw”. Indeed, learned counsel
for appellant in his address submitted that “… this appeal is not to challenge
the sentence and conviction of the appellant herein but to plea for mitigation
of sentence”. <o:p></o:p>&nbsp;Learned state
attorney does not appear to be strictly opposed to the appeal. According to
counsel, the trial judge had unfettered discretionary powers and in fact acted
within the confines of the law in imposing the 40-year sentence, but added that
“at the time the sentence was handed down to the appellant and his accomplices,
the learned trial judge did not have the benefit of being guided by the Ghana
Sentencing Guidelines as it was then not published”. Counsel fell short of
briefing the court what the learned trial judge failed to consider from the
Guidelines.<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;The law - section 149, Act 29<a href="file:///C:/Users/aggie/Desktop/2020-21/Criminal/Joseph%2</main>