Liberia: Jury Finds Ex-Chief Justice Scott, Others Guilty

Former Chief Justice Gloria Musu Scott, along with three other family members, has been found guilty of the murder of Charloe Musu, a relative. 

The verdict, delivered by a majority of the jury, concluded the five-month grueling trial that included charges of murder, criminal conspiracy, and raising a false alarm to law enforcement officers. 

During the trial, the prosecution successfully argued that Charloe’s death was premeditated, while the defense sought to cast doubt on such claims. 

“We, the trial jurors in the case, after careful consideration of the evidence, hereby agree that the defendants are judged guilty of the crimes of murder, criminal conspiracy, and raising a false alarm to law enforcement officers,” 11 out of the 12 jurors said in their ruling after deliberating for less than an hour.

The jury’s verdict came after five months of listening to grueling arguments from both the prosecution and defense lawyers, with each party presenting a compelling narrative and gripping testimonies, and a thorough examination of evidence to outweigh each other.

But for the jurors, the prosecution presented more compelling evidence that detailed the events leading up to Charloe’s untimely death. Witnesses, forensic experts, and law enforcement officials, in the minds of the jurors, collaborated on the case against the accused, presenting a convincing narrative that left little room for doubt — fueling the majority guilty verdict on all charges.

Musu, a niece of the former Chief Justice, was found stabbed to death in the night hours of February 22 in the home of the legal luminary. 

Scott and her co-accused blamed the death on an alleged assassin or intruder, who they claimed escaped after the accident had taken place. 

However, months after a thorough examination of the crime scene, the government, on June 12, indicted Scott and three other family members for murder, criminal conspiracy, and giving a false alarm to police. 

The government, in its indictment, claimed that in the night hours of “February 22, at about 10:00 PM, Cllr. Gloria Musu-Scott, Gertrude Newton, Alice Johnson, and Rebecca Youdeh Wisner, “with criminal intent, armed themselves with a sharp instrument believed to be a knife and pepper spray; and willfully, intentionally, purposely, and maliciously inflicted several bodily injuries on Charlotte Musu, including her chest, right hand, left thigh, and left armpit, leading to her death and thereby committing the crime of murder.”

But Scott and her co-defendants denied the charges and pleaded not guilty. During the trial, their lawyers argued that they were “being wrongly accused of a crime they know nothing about” as a result of the state’s failure to go after the main perpetrator(s).

Scott’s lawyers also argued that prosecution’s evidence was weakened and failed to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that the four defendants actually committed the crime of murder with “what was believed to be a knife”, as claimed by the government.

The prosecution, however, rebutted and defended their evidence, saying that the circumstances surrounding the incident clearly show that the former chief justice and her family members were actually liable for the death of Musu. 

The majority of jurors then sided with the prosecution’s case — arguing in their ruling that after they had meticulously examined the evidence and witness testimonies, it was easy to reach the guilty verdict for the charges that defendants were accused of, which include the charges of murder and criminal conspiracy that carry severe legal punishment. 

The sentencing phase of the trial is now on hold as Scott’s lawyers have announced plans to file an appeal to the Supreme Court, believing that the jury’s verdict is a miscarriage of justice. 

During the appeal period, the former Chief Justice and her family members will remain behind bars until the Supreme Court can issue a ruling if they file an appeal.