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Liberia’s Supreme Court on Thursday acquitted former justice minister and chief justice, Gloria Maya Musu-Scott, and three female relatives of the murder of her niece, Charlotte Musu. The court found insufficient evidence to uphold the convictions, which had originally sentenced the 70-year-old Musu-Scott and her relatives to life in prison for the February 2023 murder.
The acquittal followed an appeal against a lower court’s decision that found Musu-Scott guilty of stabbing her 29-year-old niece and making a false report to the police. The former chief justice had maintained her innocence throughout, claiming an assassin had broken into her Monrovia home and killed her niece. Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene Yuoh, in delivering the Supreme Court’s verdict, stated that the prosecution had failed to meet the burden of proof required to sustain a conviction.
A jubilant crowd greeted Musu-Scott and her relatives as they emerged from the prison, having spent over eight months behind bars. Speaking after her release, Musu-Scott expressed relief but criticized the state of Liberia’s justice system, highlighting that “there are a lot of innocent persons in jail in this republic.” She thanked her legal team but emphasized that much work remains to be done to improve justice in Liberia.
Musu-Scott’s case has captured national attention, not only because of her prominence as one of Liberia’s most respected judges and politicians but also due to her recent victory against the electoral commission as part of the opposition Unity Party’s legal team. Despite her acquittal, the case has left deep scars, with women’s rights organizations such as the Women Non-Governmental Organizations Secretariat Of Liberia (Wongosol) expressing concerns over the outcome. They called for continued efforts to achieve “true justice” for the murdered woman and to assist the acquitted women in rebuilding their lives.
Musu-Scott, who served as justice minister and later as the chief justice of the Supreme Court until her retirement in 2003, transitioned into politics and remained active until 2012 as a lawmaker in Maryland County. Her legal work with the Unity Party continued until her arrest.
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