Criminal Court ‘A’ at the Temple of Justice, Judge Roosevelt Willie, has ordered the release of 117 inmates from the Monrovia Central Prison due to the state’s refusal to indict them for the crimes charged.
These inmates have spent six to nine years in prison as pretrial detainees without any indictment issued that would enable them to appear in court and prove their innocence.
Those released include suspects Diana Walter, Andrew Williams, James Walker, Momo Kanneh, Tonny Boimah, Samuel Poka, Daniel Kennedy, Ernest P. Vandy, Perry Kpor, Joe William, Josiah Jeboe, Daddyboy Johnson, David Toe, Abraham Watson, among others.
These suspects were arrested, charged, and committed to the Monrovia Central Prison for crimes such as murder, armed robbery, arson, manslaughter, and criminal conspiracy, among others—offenses classified as first- and second-degree felonies under the laws of Liberia.
The motion to dismiss the charges against the defendants was filed by public defense lawyer Cllr. Sennay Carlor II, and consolidated by Cllr. Aloysius Toe, who filed on behalf of 111 inmates that had been imprisoned without indictment by the Government of Liberia.
Accordingly, Cllrs. Carlor II and Toe based their motion on Article 21(f) and (h) of the 1986 Constitution and Section 18.2 of the Criminal Procedure Law of Liberia.
They requested the judge, under Section 18.2 of Title 2 of the Criminal Procedure Law, to dismiss the criminal complaints pending against the inmates and to grant their immediate release from unlawful and prolonged pretrial incarceration at the Monrovia Central Prison.
