Foster-Sutton, P. The appellant was charged with the murder of one Kwabena Asare, The case was tried by Smith, Ag. j., and a jury in the Supreme Court, Eastern judicial Division; he was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to three years imprisonment with hard labour. The case for the prosecution was that a warrant for the arrest of the appellant had been issued and that when the deceased, a Local Authority Police Constable, attempted to execute it by arresting the appellant he stabbed the deceased with knife causing a wound three-quarter of an inch deep on the left side of the neck just below the left ear-thereby causing or, alternatively, accelerating, his death”.
One point only was argued at the hearing of the appeal, namely was the cause death proved? The material evidence on this, point was given by the first witness called by the prosecution, the medical practitioner who received the injured man when he was taken to hospital and later performed the post-mortem nation on the body. He said, inter alia “dissection showed no involvement any large vessels or nerves in the neck. On opening the skull the superficial vessels of the brain were found to be abnormally extended. The whole surface the brain showed signs of inflammation, deep down between the two halves the brain were adhesions suggesting previous inflammation of that part of the , , Deeper under the adhesions, the brain tissue was softer than normal. A abscess was found in this region. In my opinion, death was due to toxemia-poisoning of the system and blood-as a result of an inflammation the brain, The original cause of the inflammation was not easy to determine , but it appeared not to be of recent origin. A man with a brain abscess is bound to die some time or other-the stab wound could have accelerated the man death “, and he went on to say” the stab wound was not serious, I am not prepared to say that the stab wound did hasten death”.
To establish a charge of murder or manslaughter it must be proved not merely, that the act of the accused person could have caused the death of the deceased, that it did cause, or accelerate, his death.
In this case the doctor, putting his evidence at its highest, went no further saying “ the stab wound could have accelerated the man’s death”. That being so the evidence is not sufficient to support the conviction for manslaughter.
Counsel for the Crown submitted that this is a case where we should exercise the power conferred by sections 141 (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code and 11 (2) of the West African Court of Appeal Ordinance, and substitute a verdict of guilty of intentionally and unlawfully causing grievous harm to Kwabena Asare contrary to section 198 of the Criminal Code.
It seems to us clear from their verdict that the jury were satisfied of facts proved the appellant guilty of intentionally and unlawfully causing grievous In these circumstances we are of the opinion that this is a case in which we to exercise the power referred to by counsel for the Crown. We accordingly substitute a verdict of guilty of intentionally and unlawfully causing grievous to him Kwabena Asare, contrary to section 198 of the Criminal Code, and sentence the appellant to three years' imprisonment with hard labour.
Verdict of causing grievous harm substituted.