Decongest prisons to curb COVID-19 - Joe Ghartey

He said people in detention are particularly vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The MP who served as the Attorney-General in 2006 during the administration of former President John Agyekum Kufuor noted that the transmission of diseases in overcrowded facilities is rife, placing the lives of both prisoners and staff at risk.

In a Facebook post, he said "In this Covid19 era, the need to decongest prisons in Ghana, has become much more urgent.

"People are in prison who should not be there and people have been given custodial sentences who should not. Over a decade ago, the Justice for All Project was launched amongst others to ensure the decongestion of the prisons.

"The fact that sentencing is still an issue means that we have done a lot but there is still a lot more to do. Since coming events cast their shadows, the Attorney-General’s clarity of thought in his recent meeting with the Chief Justice where the sentencing policy was discussed is welcome.

"It is my hope that non-custodial sentences become very much a part of our sentencing policy during the tenure of this Attorney-General."

So far, Ghana has reported 89,682 cases and 725 deaths as well as 85,761 recoveries as of Monday, March 22, 2020.