SUPREME COURT, ACCRA
DATE:19TH OCTOBER, 1962
BEFORE: VAN LARE J.S.C.
JUDGMENT OF VAN LARE J.S.C.
The appellant had two cases pending against him before the Circuit Court, Accra. In each the offences were unlawful entry and stealing: one transaction took place in February 1961 and the other in March 1961. The indictments were preferred on the 20th November, 1961, when the appellant was convicted and sentenced to a term of five years I.H.L. on each count. The sentences were concurrent. The trial on the second indictment came before Judge Wiredu on the 14th December, 1961, when he also convicted the appellant and sentenced him to a term of five years I.H.L. on each count concurrent. It appears from Mr. Wiredu’s notes that he treated the earlier conviction of the appellant as a previous conviction. This strictly is not so. A previous conviction is one in respect of which the prisoner had already suffered punishment before committing a later offence.
The offences committed by the appellant in respect of which the two indictments were preferred formed a series of offences of the same and similar character. The trial circuit judge in the instant case should have made the sentence of five years I.H.L. to run concurrently with the former sentence imposed in the earlier case. Failure to do so means that the appellant would be serving two consecutive sentences of five years I.H.L. totalling ten years I.H.L. This in our view is manifestly excessive and we agree with the learned senior state attorney that the sentence imposed in this case should be made to run concurrently with the sentence imposed by the trial court on the 20th November, 1961.
(Blackie v. The State. Judgment of the Supreme Court (van Lare, Sarkodee-Adoo and Crabbe, JJ.S.C.)
delivered by van Lare, J.S.C.).
