The Chief Justice was responding to remarks from the Chair of the Board Justice Miatta Samba and the Executive Director Ms. Fatmata Claire Carlton-Hanciles during a courtesy call on Thursday, 10 January 2019.
Justice Miatta said many inmates spend long periods in correctional centers waiting to have their day in court through no fault of theirs. She added that some inmates without indictments would have spent less in correctional centers if they had been tried and convicted in a timely manner.
Ms. Carlton-Hanciles said there are many inmates with indictments who have not be assigned to judges. ‘In November 2018, we had 184 in the Male and Female Correctional Center in Freetown,’ she said. ‘The number has reduced to 90,’ she added. She also informed the Chief Justice that there are many inmates for whom judgment pending.
The Chief Justice took the opportunity to invite the Board to a training workshop on Sexual Penetration matters for Magistrates, Judges and Prosecutors. The Board should send five Legal Aid Counsel to the training.
