The family of defendant Gloria Musu Scott is crying out against what appears to be a calculated attempt to keep her and others in prison perpetually, in flagrant violation and abuse of their constitutional and fundamental human rights.
Defendant Scott and three members of her family have spent more than four hundred hours in detention since their arrest by the Liberia National Police, on alleged charges of murder, criminal conspiracy, and making false statements to law enforcement officers, but the state is yet to present to the defendants’ lawyers the material evidence upon which they arrested and charged the accused, in keeping with law and practice.
The spokesperson of the Musu family, Mr. Nathaniel Toe, said with the unjustifiable refusal of the state to obey the court’s mandate and furnish their lawyers with the reliant pieces of evidence on which the charges were drawn, the family and other members of the public now fear that there are serious efforts and attempts by powerful political movers and shakers influencing the prosecution to disobey the court and weaponize the legal process against Justice Scott and her family.
Several legal pundits have expressed serious concerns and raised key questions as to why the government rushed to arrest, charge, indict and detain Justice Scott and family members without evidence, following over four months of police investigation, or why the state is refusing to present its evidence to the legal team of the accused as required by law and practice.
The Judge of criminal Court ‘A’, Roosevelt Z. Willie, ruled on Tuesday, July 4, 2023, and mandated the prosecution or government of Liberia to turn over all material pieces of evidence, including police report, autopsy report, coroner’s report, picture of the murder weapon, etc., relied upon by the government to charge Scott, 80 year old Rebecca Youdeh Wisner, Gertrude Newton, and Alice Johnson.
Many lawyers have opined that in the true enforcement of law and justice in a civilized environment, the defense lawyers did not even have to request or demand the government to present them with the material evidence upon which their clients were arrested and charged.
They argued that the framers of the constitution did not intend that its articles and provisions would aid and abet the police or prosecutors to violate and abuse the rights of accused persons at will, and that’s why constitutional articles and statues are there to guide and direct how the processes of investigation, arrest, and charging are carried out.
They maintain that in this particular case, the state arrested, charged and detained Justice Scott and others, and the jurisdictional court has duly mandated that all pieces of material evidence be given to the legal team of the accused, in keeping with the required procedure, and so it is surprising and unbelievable for a civilized and democratic government to deliberately ignore and disrespect the court’s mandate.
This saga is, no doubt, drawing not only the attention of legal minds, but also followers of the legal process since, in fact, the constitution provides and mandates that any person suspected or accused of committing a crime shall, immediately, upon arrest, be told in detail of the crime he or she is accused of committing, so, why and how, that after over four months of investigation which led to arrest charges and indictment, is the government still unable or unwilling to comply with the law and abide by the mandate of a court of competent jurisdiction?
The government’s failure or refusal to abide by the court’s mandate is now being seen as, among other things, an indication that the police and prosecutors might still be searching for the evidence against the accused.
Amid all of this, Justice Scott’s family and friends, last week, termed the whole case and the attitude of state prosecutors as a mere political witch hunt, meant to violate and abuse people’s rights, and an act of complete scapegoating on the part of the government of Liberia.
Meanwhile, Justice Scott’s legal team has filed a bill of information to Criminal Court ‘A’ against the state’s failure or refusal to abide by the court’s mandate, contained in the ruling on Tuesday, July 4, 2023.
State prosecutors have, instead, filed a petition for a writ of certiorari before the supreme court against the ruling/mandate of Criminal Court ‘A’ Judge, Roosevelt Z. Willie, a further indication that the state is either unable or unwilling to abide by the mandate and present the material evidence to Justice Scott’s legal team.
