By Jerromie S. Walters
Monrovia – The awkward reality of Liberia’s broken justice system becomes painfully evident within the overcrowded cells of Monrovia Central Prison, where hundreds of presumed innocent citizens waste away in legal limbo. As the August 2025 court term opens with traditional pomp and ceremony, a darker truth emerges from behind the prison walls – more than 2,181 Liberians currently languish in pretrial detention, their constitutional rights trampled by systemic failures that have transformed temporary custody into indefinite punishment.
The gravity of this crisis came into focus during Criminal Court “B” Judge Wesseh Alphonsus Wesseh’s opening charge, where he revealed shocking statistics that lay bare the collapse of Liberia’s pretrial justice system. According to newly compiled judicial data, pretrial detainees now account for a staggering 65 percent of Liberia’s total prison population, with many individuals enduring years of confinement for minor alleged offenses that would typically carry minimal or non-custodial sentences if properly adjudicated. These forgotten souls of Liberia’s justice system include cases like that of Emmanuel Tokpa, a 24-year-old mechanic who has spent 427 days imprisoned for allegedly stealing a $150 generator – a case that has never been formally presented before a judge.
What makes these numbers particularly alarming is their stark contrast with international norms. Comparative justice system data shows that Liberia’s pretrial detention rate exceeds regional averages by nearly 40 percent, with neighboring Sierra Leone and Côte d’Ivoire maintaining pretrial populations at 38 percent and 42 percent respectively. This discrepancy becomes even more troubling when examining the nature of offenses involved – judicial records indicate that 63 percent of current pretrial detainees are held for non-violent petty crimes including minor theft, disorderly conduct, and small-scale drug possession, offenses that under normal circumstances would not warrant prolonged incarceration.
The human cost of this systemic failure manifests most painfully in Liberia’s overwhelmed detention facilities. At South Beach Prison, originally designed to humanely accommodate 800 inmates, current population levels have ballooned to nearly 1,700 detainees crammed into deteriorating colonial-era structures. Firsthand accounts from prison medical staff paint a harrowing picture of the consequences – tuberculosis infection rates among detainees have reached 47 percent, while malnutrition-related illnesses account for nearly 30 percent of medical interventions. Perhaps most tragically, the prison infirmary currently houses 16-year-old Joseph Flomo, arrested at age 14 for allegedly stealing a chicken, now battling advanced malaria after 22 months of waiting for his day in court.
Legal scholars unanimously agree that this crisis constitutes a flagrant violation of multiple provisions within Liberia’s 1986 Constitution. Article 20(a)’s guarantee of “justice without delay” has become meaningless for thousands, with median case processing times now exceeding statutory limits by 300 percent. Equally troubling is the wholesale violation of Article 21(e), which expressly prohibits the “inhumane treatment” of detainees and mandates separation of pretrial and convicted populations – a requirement systematically ignored in every major Liberian detention facility.
The roots of this catastrophe stem from three interconnected systemic failures that have festered for decades. The judicial bottleneck created by severe understaffing – with only 17 circuit judges serving Liberia’s population of 5 million – has resulted in a staggering backlog exceeding 9,000 pending criminal cases. Compounding this problem, the near-collapse of public defense services leaves 83 percent of pretrial detainees without legal representation, while those fortunate enough to secure counsel often wait six months or longer for their attorneys to file basic motions. The bail system, theoretically designed to protect liberty interests, has become functionally inaccessible to 92 percent of detainees who cannot afford even 10 percent of typically imposed bond amounts.
Within the squalid confines of facilities like Zone 4 Police Depot, the human consequences of these systemic failures become unbearably clear. Two hundred seventeen detainees pack into a space designed for fifty, with no running water since March 2025 and a weekly food budget of just $0.75 per prisoner. The facility’s “calendar wall,” where detainees meticulously scratch off each passing day with whatever sharp objects they can find, stands as silent testament to justice delayed becoming justice denied – one inscription reading “Day 589 – God forgot Liberia” captures the despair of men and women who have literally been left to rot.
Judge Wesseh’s charge outlined a comprehensive reform agenda that could begin addressing this national disgrace. Immediate measures include emergency mass case review hearings for all detainees held beyond statutory limits and implementation of non-cash release options long authorized but never properly implemented under Section 13.5 of Liberia’s Criminal Procedure Law. For sustainable reform, the proposal calls for establishing a specialized pretrial division with dedicated judges, implementing a digital docket management system to finally bring transparency to case tracking, and guaranteeing legal representation within 72 hours of arrest – a basic right enjoyed in most civilized jurisdictions.
