FLASHBACK: Defendants leaving the Circuit court back in 2019 in Buchanan where the trial took place
By Garmah Never Lomo, garmahlomo@gmail.com
TEMPLE OF JUSTICE, Monrovia- The Supreme of Liberia on Tuesday April 30,2024, heard arguments between government lawyers and Public Defenders in widely publicized case involving the humiliation of three women who were stripped naked and paraded through the streets of the southeastern Sinoe County in December 2019.
That incident went viral on the Social Media at the time.
During the arguments, government lawyers led by Cllr. Plato Jaba argued that they proved their case beyond all reasonable doubt and proved a prima Facie case.
Cllr. Jaba further argued before the full bench of the Supreme Court that their witnesses then identified the defendants in court by calling their names and their testimonies corroborated during the trial in Buchanan City, Grand Bassa County.
However, the defendants were represented by the office of the public defense in Montserrado County.
During the argument before the highest court in the country, Cllr. Bestman Juah of the public defense office argued that Judge Joe S. Barkon, Resident Judge of the Second Judicial Circuit Court in Grand Bassa County made an error by sentencing the defendants to forty-five years after initially sentencing them to twelve-five years.
Cllr. Juah added that five of the defendants out of seven were mistakenly arrested during police investigations even the victims identified each one of them in open court.
According to Cllr. Juah, two of the defendants namely, Alex Karpeh, “country devil” town crier Moses Solo, country devil spokesperson confessed that it was the both of them who committed the act.
Cllr. Juah was questioned by the Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene G. Yuoh as to whether those defendants (now convicts) brought other witnesses to testify on their behalf but the answer was negative.
The defendants were initially sentenced to twenty-five years but it was later amended to 45 years, after prosecution filed a motion to rescind the Judge Judgment.
One of the defendants, Tweh Kelgbeh later died. He was uncle to the girl that was raped and killed. And he was the brother to the girl’s uncle.
The first sentence was announced on September 5,2019.
Torture is a basic human rights violation under both the Liberian Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
The case was transferred from Sinoe where the act was committed to Buchanan, in order not to impede the smooth conduct of the trial.
During the argument on Tuesday September 17, 2019, in Buchanan city, Grand Bassa County, state prosecutor Patto B. Jarba argued that murder itself is a capital offense and a sentence in the constitution, once a defendant is convicted such punishment is life imprisonment.
The Grand Bassa county Attorney during the trial said rape sentence is ten years, adding that the defendants never pleaded guilty and more beside they joined issue with the state.
Cllr. Jarba said once those defendants were found guilty, they should be sentenced to life imprisonment in line with the constitution.
State prosecutor Jarba during the trial proceedings, the defendants never showed any remorse but rather joined issue with the state and even went ahead to file motion of new trial which the court denied base on legal reasons.
Cllr. Jarba added that if those defendants are sentence to life, it will serve as deterrence for would be traditional people or violators of the law adding that if the defendants could have pleaded guilty then they could be given lesser sentence.
The State Prosecutor prayed court to sentence the defendants to life imprisonment due to the gravity of the case and also wasting the state resources.
While the defense lawyer, Aaron D. Karlee argued that the 1986 constitution which states that any statute that will promote harsh punishment is null avoid.
Defence lawyer further cited Article 21 (d) (II) of the 1986 constitution which states that excessive bill should not be required, nor excessive fine imposed or excessive punishment adding that the decision earlier taken by the Judge to sentence the convicts to 25 years imprisonment was the right decision and want the Judge to maintain the 25 years sentence.
He questioned whether the Judge can live with the condition in the Liberian prison, where the convicts can only be served one meal and he does not want for the judge to discredit his earlier judgement, because of the “boastful motion” filed by prosecution.
Attorney Karlee therefore ,prayed the court to deny and dismiss said motion filed by the prosecution on ground that the 25 years is sufficient for the convicts.
While, the defense filed a six count resistant and the count took keen interest in count four of said resistant which states and mentioned that the request of the prosecution for life imprisonment of the defendants violate Article 21(d)(II) of the 1986 constitution of Liberia which states that excessive bill should not be required, nor excessive fine imposed or excessive punishment.
The Defense lawyers prayed court among other things that the motion filed by prosecution would be denied and dismissed.
The Court’s final judgement said from the facts and circumstances mentioned above, the court passed on one cardinal legal issue in making it determination as to whether the motion to correct the judgement will hold? Whether or not the motion for the correction of judgement or sentence is require by law?
Judge Barkon answered in the affirmative (yes) citing Chapter 23 section 23.6 of the Criminal procedure law of Liberia which states a person who have been convicted in a criminal action at the Circuit court who claims that the sentence imposed on him in violation of the constitution of Liberia or without jurisdiction or the sentence was excess of the maximum require by law.
Judge Barkon added that prosecution also have similar authority or legal right to file a motion to correct a judgement or sentence, if they feel that the sentence does not commensurate with the evidence adduced in court.
The resident Judge of Grand Bassa County stated that in the instance case, the defendants who have been sentenced to a prison more than 25 years, because the law provides that Chapter 14 section 14.1(b) of the penal code provides that the punishment for murder should be life sentence.
Judge Barkon disclosed that the same penal code Chapter 51 section 51.6 provides that the prosecution should not seek harshest sentence possible but to seek the one which in the judgement is more likely to achieve.
Grand Bassa County Second Judicial Circuit Court Judge added that the constitution been the organic law of Liberia has a bar with imposition of punishment in a sense.
He further stated that alluding to the fact that Liberia is a signatory to many international protocols or treaties, death punishment has been set aside that a person found guilty of murder should be sentenced to life or at the Judge discretion.
The Judge further narrated that from the history of the case, the defendants at the prison from the point of investigation to rendering a guilty verdict.
Convicts at no time showed remorse or conscious to plead guilty of the crimes to which they were charged in the indictment except after the guilty verdict during a pre-sentence hearing, the Judge ruled. And that one of all requested for mitigation that the convicts have realized their wrong doing adding that it was on that basis they were sentenced to 25years.
However, giving the facts and circumstances that the evidence adduced during the trial and defendants actions toward the survivors and victims was very disregard, gruesome to devalue of human dignity.
The court therefore modified it earlier final judgement of sentence from 25 years and added additional 20 years making 45 years.