Mr. Chief Justice, Reform the Jury System, Preserve Our Rights

I strongly oppose Chief Justice Yamie Quiqui Gbeisay Sr.’s reported call to abolish Liberia’s trial jury system. Jury tampering demands thorough investigation and firm punishment. It does not justify taking a constitutional safeguard away from the Liberian people.

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By Rufus S. Berry II, MBA
Anti-Corruption Advocate

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One rotten apple, or several groups of compromised jurors must not be allowed to destroy an entire institution. Remove those who corrupt it, strengthen its safeguards and hold the perpetrators accountable.

Article 21(h) of Liberia’s Constitution protects an accused person’s right to an impartial jury trial in the criminal cases it specifies, subject to stated exceptions and an informed, express waiver. Abolishing that protection would require constitutional amendment, including a referendum. Failures in administering justice cannot simply erase constitutional rights.

The reported finding of jury tampering in the Samuel Tweah case deserves lawful accountability. It does not establish that Liberia’s entire jury system is beyond repair. This argument defends neither Tweah nor compromised jurors; it defends a principle that must endure regardless of political affiliation.

History offers powerful lessons. In the American South, all-white juries repeatedly denied justice to Black defendants and victims. Yet the United States retained jury trials and strengthened protections against discriminatory jury selection.

In 1955, an all-white, all-male jury acquitted the men who murdered 14-year-old Emmett Till, despite compelling evidence. That appalling injustice helped galvanize the civil rights movement without ending the jury system.

In 1964, two all-white juries failed to reach verdicts against Medgar Evers’s accused murderer. Thirty years later, a racially mixed jury convicted him. An institution that had failed justice ultimately helped deliver it.

Accountability must also reach the bench. Judges whose sudden wealth or extensive property holdings appear inconsistent with their lawful earnings should face impartial investigation, with full respect for due process. The scrutiny demanded of jurors must apply equally to those who judge them. Transferring verdicts entirely to judges cannot automatically eliminate corruption.

Liberia needs transparent jury selection, proper compensation, effective screening, protection against intimidation and strict controls on unauthorized contact.

The late Chief Justice Johnnie N. Lewis offers a constructive example. His administration delivered judicial complexes in Sinoe and Gbarpolu, new courthouses at the Temple of Justice, judicial training and public defense reforms, practical measures that strengthened the judiciary.

Mr. Chief Justice, build on that legacy. Reform the system, enforce accountability and restore public confidence.
Those who corrupt justice must not gain a second victory by causing the destruction of the institution they betrayed.

Punish jury corruption. Preserve the Liberian people’s rights.