Non-custodial sentencing has been advocated for as an alternative to custodial sentences for those who commit minor offences by two proponents of prison reform.
Samson Lardy Anyenini, a private attorney and anchor of JoyNews' Newsfile, and Esther Ahulu, the manager of programmes for CHRI's Africa Office, argued that this option will significantly help to rehabilitate convicts and lessen the strain on the nation's already overcrowded jail facilities.
On June 30, Mr. Anyenini underlined the necessity of non-custodial punishment for minor offences during a discussion about community sentencing on the Super Morning Show.
However, he pointed out that those who commit grave offences should face just punishment.
"It is understood that there are some offences for which we can all agree that letting someone go to jail is acceptable. To go through there for any reformation the system might be able to provide," he added.
Alternative sentence is not now permitted in Ghanaian law. Typically, this leads to the detention or imprisonment of minor criminals before their trial.
The time has come for this narrative to shift, said Mrs. Ahulu of the Commonwealth Human Rights International (CHRI).
"We need a mechanism in place to make sure that someone is given the chance to serve a non-custodial sentence if they commit a small or nonviolent violation," she added.
She claims that the existing sentencing system does not provide for enough flexibility to accomplish the desired outcomes (in terms of rehabilitating convicts).
"The widespread notion is that when a person is put to jail, in addition to keeping the individual away from the society, the person will be reformed, but that's not the case when you go on the grounds owing to the evident difficulties with the prison service.
People travel there and return in worse shape. Therefore, worldwide best practises demonstrate that such minor and non-violent criminals should be given the chance to recompense the society rather than being sent to jail, where the community would have to spend a lot of money on the offender just to have them return.
"Imprisoning someone is not the greatest method to reform them. The ability to develop a specific programme so that the offender is being rehabilitated will now be available through community sentencing, according to her, she added.