[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]

Politics News

Lawyer demands speedy trial in murder case

Cllr. Arthur T. Johnson, in defense of defendant Joetta Pinky Abul is demanding prosecutors here to provide speedy trial for his client who stands accused of allegedly murdering her fiance early this year.Pinkay is indicted for allegedly murdering Mr. Morris N. Johnson, II, an employee of the National Social Security and Welfare Corporation (NASSCORP) at her home in S.K. D. Sports Complex Community of Paynesville during a night – time scuffle.

But her lawyer Cllr. Johnson told journalists at the Temple of Justice in Monrovia Monday, 12 November that there is no criminal agency as a relates to autopsy to the cause of death to link his client Pinkay to the murder of her boyfriend Morris.“And we believe that the government lacks the evidence of the cause of death and the criminal agency that is traceable to the defendant. But we want a speedy trial,” Cllr. Johnson notes.

He warned Monday that in just two days, he will go to court to file a motion for speedy trial and another motion for admission to bail.Cllr. Johnson says the laws require that when a person is indicted and is not tried after two terms, the party has the right in the succeeding term of court to file a motion to dismiss the allegation under Section 18.2 of the Criminal Procedure Law.

Among other things, Section 18.2 of the Criminal Procedure Law states that: “Unless good cause is shown, a court shall dismiss an indictment if the defendant is not tried during the next succeeding term after the finding of the indictment.”

“So she has been indicted two months ago, and now the burden is on the government to make sure [she goes to court],” he continues. Cllr. Johnson says his client was indicted two court terms back, but she is yet to face trial, adding that he will be seeking bail for his client because “the proof is not evident and the presumption is not great.”

Under Chapter 13.1 of the Criminal Procedure Law, Cllr. Johnson argues that when the proof is not evident and the presumption is not great, the Court is under obligation to grant the accused a bail even if the the case is criminal or a capital offense.The provision cited by the lawyer partly says: “A person in custody for the commission of a capital offense shall, before conviction, be entitled as of right to be admitted to bail unless the proof is evident or the presumption great that he is guilty of the offense.”

Cllr. Johnson recalls that there was a scuffle between the late Morris who was allegedly very drunk and defendant Pinkay at her house during the night to the point that no know can confirm who wounded the other.

He says Pinkay took a knife from her kitchen and tried to threaten the deceased with it so that he could leave.But Cllr. Johnson says while Pinkay was attempting to enter her room to lock the door, the late Morris allegedly turned her hands, took the knife from her and allegedly inflicted injury on her.

[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]

While she was allegedly in the pool of blood, Cllr. Johnson narrates that the deceased tried running away before he fell more than two or three times from the stairs “with the knife rolling down.”“And as a result [he] was seen lying on the same knife that he took from the … defendant,” he explains.

Cllr. Johnson insists that there is no evident to link his client Pinkay to the murder of her boyfriend, but says police decided to charge her for murder.He says they want their day in court to prove their innocence.The lawyer says he is particularly troubled that the accused is separated from her two years old daughter who is in the custody of the late Morris’ parents to the displeasure of Pinkay.

He says Morris’ parents are believed to be asking to serve as private prosecutors against the Pinkay in the murder case.Under the law, Cllr. Johnson notes that no one takes a child from the biological mother except by a court of competent jurisdiction.Between ages zero to three years, he warns that if the child is abruptly taken away from the biological mother, it affects the psychological and intellectual development of the child.

For more than three months, he says Pinkay has been a subject of criminal investigation, sent to court and onward to maximum detention at the Monrovia Central Prison and separated from her kid.

By Winston W. Parley

[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1] [bsa_pro_ad_space id=2] [bsa_pro_ad_space id=3] [bsa_pro_ad_space id=4] [bsa_pro_ad_space id=5] [bsa_pro_ad_space id=6]

NewDawn

The New Dawn is Liberia’s Truly Independent Newspaper Published by Searchlight Communications Inc. Established on November 16, 2009, with its first hard copy publication on January 22, 2010. The office is located on UN Drive in Monrovia Liberia. The New Dawn is bilingual (both English & French).
Back to top button