Supreme Court Judge cautions suspects against pleading guilty
Supreme Court Judge, Justice Stella Arach Amoko. FILE PHOTO
What you need to know:
- She however cautioned that although a suspect can decide to plead guilty to a case he or she did not commit to get a lesser sentence, psychologically and socially, that person will be affected throughout his or her entire lifetime.
- The Commissioner for custodial services and security at Uganda Prisons, Mr Robert Munanura, said the plea bargain program is timely given the limited space in government prisons.
Supreme Court Judge, Justice Stella Arach Amoko, has cautioned suspects against pleading guilty to cases they did not commit for the sake of getting lesser sentences.
While speaking at the opening of a two-day plea bargain training workshop held at Kirinya prison in Jinja at the weekend, Justice Amoko also who doubles as the chairperson of the Judicial Training Institute, observed that with the introduction of this program, suspects are likely to plead guilty to offenses they were never involved in to get a favourable sentence.
She said: “It’s clear that no one wants to stay in prison even for a single day; but accepting responsibly for a crime you did not commit because you want a lesser sentence or a faster release date is more dangerous to life.”
The plea bargain program, introduced in 2015 and expected to run until 2020, is meant to engage suspects in talks with the prosecution, aimed at negotiating for them a lesser punishment if they plead guilty to the offences they committed.
Justice Amoko said United States-based Pepperdine University is funding the five-year program aimed at reducing on congestion in prisons since suspects will have their sentences reduced after agreeing with victims or their relatives and no one complains later.
She however cautioned that although a suspect can decide to plead guilty to a case he or she did not commit to get a lesser sentence, psychologically and socially, that person will be affected throughout his or her entire lifetime.
The Commissioner for custodial services and security at Uganda Prisons, Mr Robert Munanura, said the plea bargain program is timely given the limited space in government prisons.
