A 25-year-old convict who is serving 10 years in prison, is pleading for a chance to apologise  to persons whom he attacked and robbed.

Speaking in a rare interview with Joy News’ Seth Kwame Boateng from the Sunyani Prison in the Brong Ahafo Region, Papa Boss as he is known to his gang, regrets committing the felonies and expressed his readiness to visit the residences of the people he attacked and robbed, to ask for forgiveness.

The interview was aired Monday December 8, on the Super Morning Show on Joy FM.

News of his arrest and prosecution for the offenses shocked his mother, who hitherto, had no idea of her son’s nefarious activities. 

He narrated that his dad who is a church elder was not surprised because he had on countless occasions intervened to prevent him from being handed to the police by persons he had mugged. His biggest heist he recalled was bundles of cash in local and foreign currency which they stole from another robbery gang.

According to the convict who has served three (3) out of the 10-year jail term, with the exception of his parents, no one has bothered to check up on him. He says none of the members of the clique he joined visited him since his arrest and incarceration. Sobbing, he revealed that his mother has even given up visiting him.

Sounding contrite, Papa Boss advised the youth to find something useful to do with their hands other than stealing what people have worked so hard to acquire. He believes he has learnt significantly from life in prison which would make him a better person to society when he regains freedom. 

Tragedy 
Contributing to the discussion via the telephone, Lawyer and Criminologist, Professor Kenneth Agyemang Attafuah is worried at the seemingly “large army” of the youth serving jail terms for various offences at a time when they should be in the colleges studying to shape their future.

The prisons, he observed, are also not in the best of forms to transform the convicts due to a number of debilitating factors.

“It’s one of the tragedies of our time that a large army of motivated offenders [typically males] aged between 15 and 37, who instead of being in college are in prison,” Prof. Attafuah told Show host, Kojo Yankson.

He added: “We have an army of desperate, disappointed, unemployed youth who feel a tremendous sense of blocked opportunities… and parenting deficits and the tragedies of our schooling system…”

Compliance
Meanwhile, Commander of the Formed Police Unit of the Ghana Police Service, Chief Superintendent Hamza Naa Yakubu, has cautioned the public against resisting robbers in order to avoid being harmed or killed. 

According to him, “it’s difficult to evaluate the minds of individuals” who are mainly motivated to make “illegal gains within a short time”.

Chief Supt. Yakubu advised that the option in such a situation is not for the victims to fight back but to submit to the demands of the offender.

“The option is to comply. If you tend to resist them you are in trouble…the best thing to do is to quietly meet their demand and quietly have your life”.