-As Prosecution Fails to Link Her to Murder in Supreme Court Appeal
By G. Bennie Bravo Johnson & Jerromie S. Walters
In the high-profile case involving former Chief Justice Musu Scott and three female relatives, the prosecution has faced challenges in linking them to the murder of Charlotte Musu, as revealed during the Supreme Court appeal.
The case dates back to January 9, 2024, when Judge Roosevelt Willie of Criminal Court A handed down a life prison conviction verdict against Justice Musu Scott and her relatives for the brutal murder of her niece, Charlotte Musu. However, in the appeal before the Supreme Court, the prosecution failed to provide substantial evidence linking Cllr. Scott to the crime, instead relying on circumstantial evidence.
Circumstantial evidence, as explained by the prosecution, is a presumptive method used to indict a person without direct proof of their involvement in the crime. Despite presenting this evidence, the prosecution could not establish a clear link between Cllr. Scott and the murder, raising doubts about the validity of the conviction.
During the arguments on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, the defense lawyers questioned whether the prosecution met the evidentiary standard required to convict the defendants of murder. They also raised concerns about potential errors made by Judge Roosevelt Willie during the trial, including issues related to jury tampering and sentencing.
The defense lawyers highlighted the importance of due process and raised questions about the government’s forensic autopsy conducted on the victim’s remains. In response, the prosecution dismissed claims of jury tampering and emphasized that the defendants were provided with a fair trial as per the law.
The prosecution added that it’s impossible that five individuals will be in a house without intrusion, but one person has been stabbed without any account.
Meanwhile, the supreme court of Liberia has a reserve ruling in the case involving former chief justice Cllr Gloria Musu Scott, and three others and the government of Liberia.
It can be recalled that juries on December 21, 2023, brought down a unanimous guilty verdict on former chief justice Cllr. Gloria Musu Scott, along with her family – Alice C. Johnson, Gertrude Newtown, and Rebecca Wisner convicted them of the crimes of Murder, Criminal Conspiracy, and Making false statements to law enforcement officers.
Criminal court A’ Judge Roosevelt Z. Willie rendered a life sentence of imprisonment on the former chief justice and her family.
The former Chief Justice and her three relatives were sentenced following an accident on February 22, 2023, that led to the death of r Charloe Musu, Cllr. Scott’s niece, at her home in Brewerville.
Reading the imprisonment sentence, Judge Willie intimated that the sentence was based on the guilty verdict brought down by juries and determined from the testimonies provided by the defense and witnesses.
The former chief justice denied the charge, saying the 29-year-old had been killed by an “assassin” who had entered her home in the capital, Monrovia. Her arrest came as a shock to many Liberians and her trial was closely followed, especially as it came in the build-up to December’s presidential election.
Cllr.-Scott was a prominent member of President-elect Joseph Boakai’spolitical party and was part of its high-powered legal team which successfully challenged the election commission’s refusal to allow parties to see the voters’ roll. She served as Liberia’s justice minister and then as its most senior judge – the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court – until her retirement in 2003.
Moreover, she later entered politics, and was a lawmaker in Maryland County until 2012, according to the African Women in Law website. In 2012, she was appointed the chairperson of the Constitutional Review Committee, as Liberia tried to strengthen democracy and good governance following the authoritarian rule and conflicts of the past.
After the jury’s verdict, a prosecuting lawyer was quoted as saying that there was overwhelming evidence against the accused and he believed it had given the right verdict.
As the Supreme Court reserves its ruling on the case, the legal battle continues to unfold, with the fate of Cllr. Scott and her co-defendants hanging in the balance.
