Supreme Court Overturns Life Sentence; Acquits Former Chief Justice Gloria Musu Scott and Relatives
By: Jeremiah Sackie Cooper
Gmail: jeremiahcooper105@gmail.com
Liberia: The Supreme Court of Liberia has overturned the life sentence previously imposed on former Chief Justice Gloria Musu Scott and her relatives by Criminal Court ‘A’ Judge Roosevelt Willie. The sentence was related to the tragic death of Charloe Musu.
On Wednesday, Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene Yuoh delivered the ruling, citing insufficient evidence to establish a direct connection between Justice Scott and her relatives and the crime.
“The state did not meet the burden of proof to warrant the conviction of the defendants. Therefore, the defendants are hereby acquitted of the crimes of murder, criminal conspiracy et al. as charged in the indictment,” Chief Justice Justice Youh ruled.
The case stemmed from a February 22, 2023, incident in which alleged armed robbers attacked the residence of former Chief Justice Scott at around 11:00 PM. The attack resulted in the brutal murder of Charloe Musu, daughter of the former Chief Justice, and left several others injured.
The Liberian government, through the Ministry of Justice on March 22, 2023 conducted an autopsy on the remains of Charloe to probe the actual cause of the death. The autopsy revealed that Charloe Musu’s death was caused by a severed intercostal artery, leading to significant blood loss.
Liberia Chief Pathologist Dr. D. Benedict Dr. Kolee explained that the blood accumulated in Charloe’s left chest causing the collapse of her left lung which ultimately led to her death.
“She lost so much blood. The blood that flowed to the left chest collapsed the left lung, meaning it suppressed it, so the left lung was not working” he added.
In January 2024, Criminal Court ‘A’ Judge Roosevelt Z. Willie sentenced former Chief Justice Scott and three family members to life imprisonment after finding them guilty of murder, criminal conspiracy, and raising a false alarm to law enforcement.
However, the Supreme Court’s recent ruling has overturned this conviction, casting doubt on the sufficiency of the evidence presented during the trial.
