The Judge of Criminal Court “A”, Roosevelt Willie, has denied a motion to bail former Chief Justice Gloria Musu Scott, Getrude Newton, Alice Johnson and Rebecca Youdeh Wisner, who are being held at the Monrovia Central Prison in connection to the murder of Charloe Musu. The defendants are being charged with murder, criminal conspiracy and providing false report to law enforcement officers.
The defense team had earlier filed a motion to bail out Cllr. Scott and the others, stating that Musu-Scott should be placed on personal recognizance because she is a former Chief Justice, former Senator and one who has held many positions in the country, citing several laws.
But resisting the defense’s motion, prosecution lawyers prayed that the motion for bail, as filed by the defendants, be denied by the court, relying on Article 21 (d) of the 1986 Constitution. According to them, while it is true that all crimes should be billable, there is a prepositional clause which says that if the crime being charged against the defendant or the accused is grave or a Capital offense then the accused person should not be entitled to bail.
The appearance of the defendants on Tuesday saw a full court room and a defense team, which included three former members of the Supreme Court, Cllr. Francis Johnson Morris, Cllr. Michael W. Wright and Cllr. Kabineh Ja’neh, as defendant Cllr. Gloria Musu Scott joined her defense team at some point to argue the motion.
Judge Willies handed down a verdict, denying the defendants’ motion to bail, following the heated argument between the defense and prosecution lawyers on Tuesday July 4, 2023.
He said, “The motion to bail is denied and the ‘prove beyond all reasonable doubts’, as required by law, will be shown when the case is assigned, where the prosecution will be ordered to prove beyond all reasonable doubt the guilt of the defendants.”
After the ruling, the defense lawyers notified the court that it takes exception, and will take advantage of the statute controlling.
Following their appearance and subsequent denial of bail, the defendants, who were all wearing prison jackets, were taken back to the Monrovia Central Prison.