The Court of Appeal judge, Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, has urged investigators to be diligent and not allow inmates to languish in prison.

This was after 12 remand prisoners at the Nsawam Medium Security Prison regained their freedom on Wednesday when they were discharged by an ad hoc court in the penitentiary as part of the Justice for All program.

Also, ten others were granted bail, and two were denied bail.

Most of these prisoners were detained for various offences, including murder and unnatural carnal knowledge, and had been languishing in Nsawam Prison for years without trial.

Addressing journalists after the hearing, Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, who also serves as a High Court judge, praised the Justice for All program and urged investigators to work diligently to prevent pre-trial inmates from being unjustly left in prison.

The Justice for All program, which started in 2007, has significantly reduced prisoner overcrowding in Ghana, from 51% in December 2018 to 42.6% in May 2024.

Wednesday's hearings at the Nsawam Medium Security Prison took place in two ad hoc courts presided over by Justice Osei Lydia Marfo and Justice Akuffo, with a total of 24 applications split between them. Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe acted as the supervising judge. Addressing reporters, she highlighted the challenge of "reasonable time," which remains undetermined in Ghana's jurisprudence and continues to unjustly keep pre-trial inmates in prison.

"What constitutes a reasonable time is yet to be properly determined. This sometimes results in long pre-trial detentions leading to overcrowding in prisons across the country.

"In 2007, the alarming prison overcrowding led to the establishment of the Justice for All Programme (JFAP) by the then Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Joe Ghartey, together with the heads of Criminal Justice Institutions, to bring the courts to the doorstep of remand prisoners.

"At that time, the remand population was 4,285, which constituted 33% of the total prison population," Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe explained.

As of the end of May 2024, the prison population in Ghana stood at 14,647 against the authorized nationwide prison capacity of 10,265. This population includes 13,057 convicts and 1,590 pre-trial detainees.

Given these statistics, Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe expressed confidence in the prospects for the country's prisons.

"From these statistics, the reduction in the pre-trial detention population is quite significant, from 33% in 2007 to 10.86% in 2024. I am confident and hopeful that, in the near future, all the Criminal Justice Institutions and stakeholders will collaborate to further reduce the period between arrest and final adjudication. This will certainly reduce the remand prisoners' population," she said.

As part of efforts to decongest the prisons, stakeholders in the justice delivery system are pushing for the Community Service Bill to be passed into law.

Addressing reporters, Jonathan Osei Owusu, Executive Director of Perfector of Sentiment, a non-profit organisation advocating for improved prison conditions, expressed confidence in the progressive nature of the bill.

He believes it would help decongest the prisons and save the country avoidable expenditures, as those charged with minor offences would undertake community service instead of being imprisoned.

Some discharged inmates, including a confessed Nigerian scammer, narrated to JoyNews the circumstances that landed them in prison and how the prison has transformed them.

As part of efforts to improve the criminal justice system, the Judiciary Criminal Justice Committee, commissioned by the Chief Justice, has proposed some pragmatic interventions to improve jury trials and criminal trials in general.