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| ''Drug'' MP to Plea Bargain? |
11/22/2005 |
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''Drug'' MP to Plea Bargain?
The member of parliament (MP) for Ghana''s ruling party arrested in the United States in connection with drug trafficking could get a minimum jail term of ONLY 10 years if he "co-operates fully" with the court and investigators.
"Co-operate fully" could lead to a “plea bargain”, i.e. an agreement in a criminal case in which a prosecutor and a defendant arrange to settle the case against the defendant. The defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest in exchange for some concession from the prosecutor.
“In Hon. Eric Amoateng’s case, he could name names, i.e. all those who aided and abetted in the criminal act and in exchange get a lighter sentence.” said a Ghanaian criminal lawyer in US
However, due to the gravity of the offence, Amoateng will still get the minimum jail term.
Already one Ghanaian newspaper claims, the MP for Nkoranza North is “in no mood to go down alone. Like a squealer, Eric is said to be ready to say it all.” Prosecutors are already preparing to arraign Amoateng and his accomplice, Nii Adjei, before court to answer charges of conspiring to distribute heroin with a street value of six million dollars in the US.
A former New York State Prosecutor told a local radio station –Joy FM -that the MP and his alleged accomplice could be sentenced to life imprisonment and the the trial could take up to a year to complete.
Source:
GHP
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