Twenty-one (21) inmates who were on remand in the Tamale Central Prison have been granted bail under the Justice for All program out of a total number of 37 applications filed.
Additionally, two inmates were discharged unconditionally, while four bail applications were refused.
Four other inmates who were initially charged with murder changed their pleas and were accordingly charged with manslaughter and convicted.
Addressing the media, Justice of the Court of Appeal Her Ladyship Justice Angelina Mensah-Homiah said four bail applications were refused for various reasons, while three other applications were also struck out.
She added that three other applications were also referred for psychiatric treatment.
The Tamale Central Prisons have a capacity of about seventy-four (74), but about two hundred and ninety (290) inmates are presently incarcerated at the facility, of which 101 are remand prisoners.
Data from the Ghana Prisons Service show a total of 13,620, comprising 1,745 remand inmates (12.81 per cent) and 11,875 convicts (87.9 per cent).
Justice Angelina Mensah-Homiah, in her remarks, indicated that the Justice for All Program over the last 19 years has impacted on the remand population in the prisons.
She stressed that the intervention has significantly reduced the number from 30.57 per cent in 2007 to the current 12.84 per cent.
“So the Justice for All has done well in that direction; the intervention has been great and we seek to improve upon it,” she emphasised.
