“It is being rumored that the Supreme Court Is going to Reverse the Life Imprisonment Verdict handed to former Chief Justice Gloria Scott and others as She and Others were remanded for life based on “Circumstantial Evidence”

– As Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene Yuoh directly Asked the defense attorney, Cllr. Bobby Livingstone, “Did all of them take turns stabbing Charloe Musu?”

IPNEWS: Early June 2024, reports emerged that former Chief Justice Cllr. Gloria Musu-Scott was granted compassionate leave by the government, which turned out to be untrue.

The Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT) termed the report as false and misleading, including the dispatched of a team of reporters to the Monrovia Central Prison (South Beach) to confirm that the former Chief Justice and others were behind bars.

During the visit, Cllr. Musu-Scott expressed frustration over the circulation of inaccurate information about her supposed compassionate leave. She emphasized that the decision to grant compassionate leave to a prisoner lies outside the President’s purview and questioned the credibility of the sources reporting her release. She highlighted the continued challenges faced by herself and her family throughout the ongoing legal proceedings.

Now, the Supreme Court of Liberia has commenced the hearing of an appeal filed by the Defense Counsel of the former Chief Justice and three others involving the death of the late Charlotte Musu.

During the arguments at the Supreme Court Tuesday, July 16, 2024, Justices asked prosecutors whether the DNA analysis by Liberian Pathologist, Dr. Benedict Kolee, linked any of the defendants to the crimes of murder, criminal conspiracy, and making false statements to law enforcement officers.

The Supreme Court, in a surprised move blasted government lawyers over their failure to link the former Chief Justice and three of her family members to the crime of murder.

The nation’s highest court’s Justices, challenged the murder conviction which was handed down on Justice Gloria Musu-Scott and three family members by a lower court. Legal experts consider this as a potential reversal of their life sentences.

The four were convicted in December 2023 by Criminal Court ‘C’ Judge Roosevelt Willie for the stabbing to death of Musu-Scott’s niece, Charloe Musu. They were also found guilty of conspiracy and making false statements to law enforcement. However, during Tuesday’s nearly three-hour oral arguments, the justices raised doubts about the prosecution’s case.

Justices of the Supreme Court bench bombarded prosecutors with questions over their failure to show the connection linking the defendants to the crimes of murder, criminal conspiracy, and raising false alarms to law enforcement officers.

The hearing on Tuesday, July 16, followed the defense lawyers’ appeal against a Circuit court’s ruling upholding jurors’ guilty verdict against Cllr. Scott and her family members Gertrude Newton, Rebecca Youdeh Wisner, and Alice Johnson.

The defendants were accused of killing Charloe Musu. The former Chief Justice said she had reported two separate attacks against her home, but the authorities did nothing to prevent further attacks before Charloe was brutally murdered.

The accused denied any links to the murder and demanded the investigation of former Monrovia Mayor Jefferson T. Koijee for allegedly ordering Varlee Telleh to carry out the attack. Koijee and Telleh denied the claim.

At the hearing, several legal practitioners described the atmosphere as “shocking”, when Justices questioned the prosecution heavily, particularly on the lack of concrete evidence linking each defendant to the murder weapon.

Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene Yuoh directly addressed the defense attorney, Cllr. Bobby Livingstone, “Did all of them take turns stabbing Charloe Musu?”

The focus then shifted to DNA evidence presented by Dr. Benedict Kolee, the Liberian pathologist. Justices pressed Livingstone to explain if the analysis connected any defendant to the crimes.

Livingstone, representing the defense, argued that the prosecution relied on “circumstantial evidence” due to the defendant’s inability to identify the killer. He further highlighted the lack of an intruder found at the scene, contradicting the defense’s claims.

“The government lawyer basically said ‘since they can’t prove who did it, we hold them all liable,’” stated another lawyer, describing Livingstone’s argument as “disturbing.”

Cllr. Livingstone further emphasized the absence of eyewitnesses in his opening statement. He argued the state failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, given conflicting evidence.

Impeached Associate Justic Kabineh Ja’neh, part of the defense team, pointed out the prosecution’s lack of eyewitness testimony. He argued the state’s case relied on “conflicting forensic and circumstantial evidence,” ultimately falling short of a conviction.

The lead defense lawyer and former Associate Justice Kabineh M. Ja’neh raised five key issues in the counterargument.

He questioned whether the state met the evidential standard of proof “beyond a reasonable doubt” required by law to individually and collectively convict the defendants of the capital crime of murder.
Alternatively, he questioned whether the state established a prima facie case against the defendants to warrant the entry of a judgment of conviction against them.

Cllr. Ja’neh argued that the state lawyers did not present a single eyewitness to the perpetration of the crime of murder as alleged in the indictment.

He said the state failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt on the strength of conflicting forensic and circumstantial evidence adduced during the trial.

Additionally, Associate Justice Jamesetta Howard Wolokolie questioned Cllr. Livingstone whether all of the accused used one knife to stab Charloe Musu or they used separate knives.

The Supreme Court’s openness to these arguments suggests a potential overturning of the lower court’s decision. A final verdict is yet to be reached, and the case continues to be closely watched by Liberian legal circles.

Earlier Tuesday prior to the commencement of trial, Information Minister, Jerelinmk Paih predated that after the hearing exercise, the full bench of the Supreme Court then decided on the case that will close the chapter of the case involving former Chief Justice Scott adding that the court is the final option of Justice in the country.

Minister Piah noted that for so long people have been wandering and still in doubt of the lower court ruling stressing that it is in the prayer view of the Supreme Court to uphold or nullify the lower court decision that will be adjudicated by the highest court in the land.

“We believe that the intervention of the Supreme Court will certainly bring to a closure the split case involving the late Charlotte Musu who died at a young age while schooling. It appeal heard by the highest court is contrary to what people said the government has given compassionate leave to former Justice Scott “, Minister Paih added.

Speaking at the Information Ministry’s regular press briefing Tuesday, Minister Paih reiterated that the government remain committed to upholding peace, security, transparency, and above all rule of law which is part of the ARREST agenda of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai.

It can be recalled that Justice Gloria Musu-Scott, Liberia’s former Chief Justice and former member of the Liberian Senate along with three of her relatives are serving a life imprisonment after five months of trying to prove her innocence before Criminal Court “A.”

Justice Scott and others’ sentencing comes in the wake of a legal battle between the Government of Liberia and the legal team of the Scott family in connection with the death of Charlie Musu, a foster daughter of Cllr. Scott was stabbed multiple times in February 2023 at the home of the former Chief Justice.

During the sentencing hearing, Judge Roosevelt Wille of Criminal Court “A,” announced the sentence of the former stateswoman and her family stating that they have been sentenced for a lifetime, a punishment that will be served at the Monrovia Central Prison.

In rendering his judgment, Judge Wille said regretfully the death sentence had been suspended which implies that the Judge awarded the indictment’s hanging. Their life imprisonment sentence takes effect right after the Tuesday, January 9, 2023 judgment by the court.

On December 21, 2023, a 15-member jury panel handed down a guilty verdict against Justice Gloria Musu-Scott, former Liberian Chief Justice and her three relatives including Gertrude Newton, Alice Johnson and Rebecca Youdeh-Wisner for the death of Charlie Musu in February of last year.

The case dates back to February 2023 following an alleged attack on the home of Justice Scott that led to the subsequent death of CharloeMusu her niece after being stabbed multiple times.

In June of 2023, Scott and her three relatives mentioned above were arrested and indicted for the crimes of Murder, Criminal Conspiracy and Giving False Reports to State Security in connection to the February incident at Justice Scott’s home something that resulted in the death of the Charloe.

The state indictment alleged that the intruder armed themselves with sharp instruments which it believed to be a knife and pepper spray, willfully, intentionally, purposely, and maliciously inflicted several bodily injuries on the deceased resulting in her subsequent death at the Redemption Hospital in New Kru Town.

Following a five-month trial into the case, the juror of fact unanimously agreed with the state that Justice Scott and her three relatives killed the deceased, finding them guilty of all three charges listed above

The judge said the juror verdict was correct and that the state provided beyond all reasonable doubt the charges against Scott and her relatives.