PHOTO: Former Chief Justice Gloria Musu Scott leaving the Criminal Court
By Garmah Never Lomo, garmahlomo@gmail.com
The Judge presiding over the trial of former Liberian Chief Justice Gloria Musu Scott and three others is concerned about repeated delays in the trial on the part of government’s lawyers.
Cllr. Scott and three other family members are being tried foe multiple crimes, including murder in connection to the death last February of her foster daughter Charloe Musu.
Judge Roosevelt Z. Willies on Monday, September 4, 2023 warned the prosecution not to stop delaying the proceeding by providing one witness a day.
Judge Willies said the prosecution has about seven witnesses on the indictment so producing one witness is not helpful for the case.
He told the prosecution to provide their witnesses to prove their case and not to continuously keep the defendants in jail by providing one witness at a time.
Judge Willie’s warning was based on the prosecution’s request for continuance indicating that the said witness would be available during the next day’s sitting, It was based on the defence resistance to the application made by the prosecution request and asked the court to deny and dismiss the application.
The Criminal Court “A” Judge said that the court will be constrained to grant the continuance and hereby warned the prosecution to bring its witness as stated in the indictment and not to say that they will bring one witness here for trial.
During the day hearing prosecution’s first witness Zion Tarr, a security guard who worked with the Genesis Security Guard service, assigned at the former chief justice house in Berwerville testified and said the incident occurred on Feb 22, 2023, where he heard a noise at about 9-
30 pm and he (Tarr) went to where the noise came from and he saw Co-defendant Gertrude Newton to their window shouted that armed robber enters on them.
Witness Tarr informed the court and jury that Co-defendant Gertrude told him to use his cutlass to cut the window bars because the door was locked, and he (Tarr) cut the steal bars with a cutlass where community dwellers entered through the window after they heard the noise.
Still on the witness stand, Tarr said he did not enter the house while the family was shouting, He told the court that he did not know what happened inside. But Later he saw the former Chief Justice and the victim now deceased Charloe Musu when she placed in the car to get her to the hospital.
Cllr. Scott, Gertrude Newton, Rebecca Y. Wisner, and Alice Johnson were indicted by the special grand juror for Montserrado County for the alleged crime: Murder, Criminal Conspiracy, and Making for information to law enforcement statement.
Meanwhile, hearing into the case is expected to continue tomorrow, Tuesday, September 5, with the prosecution’s second witness taking the stand.