By funmilayo Olagunju

|

Few weeks ago, I entered appearance for an indigent Defendant without Legal representation in Court. He pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of drugs and he was to be summarily tried. After the review of fact by the Prosecution, the Court convicted him as charged.

After his conviction, I informed the Court that I have the consent of the convict to give Allocutus (opportunity given to a criminal defendant convicted of crime to persuade the court for mitigation of punishment before sentencing by the Court) on his behalf. The Honourable Court was persuaded and in furtherance to rehabilitation, the convict was sentenced to years of imprisonment back dated to the date of his arrest. In actual sense, the convict had spent the terms of imprisonment in custody and was released to go home.

He became the envy of other defendants awaiting trial. With respect to physical liberty, he might consider himself lucky but his appellation and status already changed from suspect to convict. Beyond the severity of sentence, there are weights attached to criminal conviction.

Black’s Law dictionary defines conviction as the act or process of judicially finding someone guilty of a crime; the state of having been proved guilty. It also refers to the judgement that someone is guilty of crime.

Conviction precedes sentencing. The legal pronouncement of guilt is conviction while pronouncement of punishment (such as imprisonment term and or option of term) is sentencing.

Criminal conviction affects a convict beyond the sentencing. Here are some of the effect of criminal conviction:

1. The privilege of a first time offender (mitigation of sentencing) is extinguished in respect to a convict.

2. The Court becomes wary of granting bail to a convict when subsequently charged.

3.The convict might become prejudiced in contesting for the custody of a Child in matrimonial proceeding.

4. The convict might become prejudiced in processing legal adoption of a child in Nigeria

5.The convict might become excluded from positions where utmost good faith is required (e.g, exclusion from the Nigerian Law School)

6.The convict might become disadvantaged in competing for lucrative employment.

7. Inability to obtain Police clearance certificate.

“A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold”