• Judges look at the evidence in court to make final pronouncements, the Special Prosecutor has said
• He stated that it is only the complainant and God who knows the truth on a case in court
• Without evidence, the complainant will be found guilty, he added
Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, has indicated that, judges work more with evidence in criminal cases than they do with truth.
According to him, only God and the person involved know the truth but lawyers and judges work with evidence in court.
He also said lawyers work with available document presented to them and based on that, make pronouncements.
Speaking on Peace FM’s Kokrokoo programme, monitored by GhanaWeb on Thursday, September 30, the Special Prosecutor said,
“When it comes to law, it’s not the truth we’re looking for. Only God knows the truth; the truth is between you and your God. If you do something, it is between you and your God; the lawyer wasn’t there. What you tell the lawyer and the documents before the lawyer, is the truth the lawyer deals with. So, if you’re lying, the lawyer wouldn’t know you’re lying.”
He furthered that, “The documents you present before him are what guide him. So, when he or she goes to court and you stand in the dock, what you told him is what he tells the court. If you, the lawyer doesn’t know the truth, how do you expect the judge to know the truth? The judge looks at the evidence.”
“It can be that you are telling the truth but don’t have any evidence to substantiate your statements. The lawyer won’t know; the judge won’t know, so your truth will sound to them like deception. That’s why I’m saying when it comes to law, it’s not the truth we’re looking for because no one knows the truth. It’s the evidence we are looking at…So, if you don’t get the evidence to court, no matter how sweet your case is, you will be found guilty”, he stated.
He, therefore, entreated all to gather enough evidence for their cases so as to avoid the situation where their clients are pronounced guilty though they are telling the truth.
