By Jerromie S. Walters
The Supreme Court of Liberia has overturned previous ruling in former Chief Justice Gloria Musu Scott and relatives murder case, and ordered their immediate release.
On December 21, 2023, a jury delivered a unanimous guilty verdict against Cllr. Scott and her family members—Alice C. Johnson, Gertrude Newtown, and Rebecca Wisner—were convicted of Murder, Criminal Conspiracy, and Making False Statements to Law Enforcement.Criminal Court A Judge Roosevelt Z. Willie sentenced the former Chief Justice and her relatives to life imprisonment following a tragic incident on February 22, 2023, which resulted in the death of Charloe Musu, Cllr. Scott’s niece, at her residence in Brewerville.
But delivering the verdict on Wednesday, August 28, 2024, Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene Yuoh keeled over the life sentence imposed by Criminal Court C Judge Roosevelt Willie on former Chief Justice Gloria Musu Scott and her relatives. She said there was insufficient evidence to tie Justice Scott and her three relatives to the crime.
Prosecution Failed to Link Her to Murder
In the high-profile case involving former Chief Justice Musu Scott and three female relatives, the prosecution previously faced challenges in linking them to the murder of Charloe 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.
The onset
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 is a prominent member of President-elect Joseph Boakai’s political 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.
