Monrovia — Liberia's Supreme Court on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, blasted government lawyers over their failure to link former Chief Justice Gloria Musu-Scott and three of her family members to the crime of murder.
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, daughter of Cllr. Scott. 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.
During the arguments at the Supreme Court Tuesday, 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.
In response, prosecution lawyer Cllr. Bobby Livingstone said their case theory was based on circumstantial evidence since the defendants failed to point out who did the killing.
With this response above, the Justices told Cllr. Livingstone that the prosecution of the case was based on presumption and assumption without establishing any evidence.
The Justices were also concerned about each role played by the defendants during the commission of the crimes.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
"Did all of them take the knife to stab Charloe Musu?" Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene G. Yuoh questioned prosecution lawyer Livingstone.
Arguing further on behalf of the Government of Liberia, Cllr. Livingstone debunked the five issues raised by Cllr. Scott's lawyers.
Cllr. Livingstone asserted that no intruder was discovered during the commission of the crimes, as the defendants alleged.
"By Circumstantial evidence, we will hold all [of] them," Cllr. Livingstone argued.
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 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.
