Liberia: Grandmother Charged with Negligent Homicide in Child’s Death Walks Free
The grandmother Sennian Allison
… as father express disappointment in the country’s justice system
Lomeal Davis, the father of the seven-year-old child whose lifeless body was found floating in an open pit in the Nimba United Community, Mount Barclay, has waived the trial against defendant Sennian Allison, who was charged with negligent homicide.
His reason: financial constraints.
The judge, he alleged, repeatedly demands payment each time he appears in court, forcing him to relinquish the case. “I had to waive the case because every time we go to court, the judge will demand money. The first time I went to court, I spent over US$50, and I am not working nor do I have any external support. The justice system in Liberia is corrupt,” he said.
The court case is a criminal trial involving the State versus Sennian Allison, for the crime of negligent homicide in the death of seven-year-old Jameal Davis.
The girl met her untimely death when she was sent by her step-grandmother, Allison, to buy pampers at a nearby Jalloh shop on July 24, and never returned.
The Liberia National Police (LNP), after three months of investigation, charged Allison with negligent homicide.
According to Liberia’s penal law, negligent homicide is a felony of the third degree and has a fixed prison term that cannot exceed five years.
Allison’s crime, according to the LNP, violates Chapter 14, Section 14.3 of the revised penal code of Liberia on grounds that she purposely, knowingly, and intentionally sent the minor alone without considering her age.
“In view of the foregoing facts and circumstances surrounding the death of the victim Jameal Davies, coupled with the evidence adduced, the police has resolved to charge defendant Sennian Allison for the crime of negligent homicide in accordance with the revised penal code of Liberia,” the police said in an investigative report.
The report added: “The crime of negligent homicide occurred [on grounds that] the grandmother took less care of the child by sending her alone to go buy pampers (disposable diapers) without considering the age and the distance.”
Davis accused the mother of the deceased, Joeline S. Newohn, who is in a relationship with Allison’s son, of not supporting him in ensuring that their daughter gets justice, an accusation she rejected, stating that she has been supporting and would not compromise the case.
“I am not my mother-in-law or anybody. All I want is justice for my child. Whosoever that took away her life must pay,” she said.
The police report stated that after the child had not been seen for around 10 minutes, the step-grandmother went to the shop, but neither the shop owner nor the little girl could be seen.
According to police, the grandmother then asked some petty traders selling along the road near the Jalloh shop, where the deceased had gone to buy the pampers, but nobody could give information about having seen the minor around there.
The grandmother then filed a missing person’s report with the former chairman of the Nimba United Community in Mount Barclay — kicking off a search for the little girl — but it was fruitless, the report said.
“Investigation established that the victim’s death was the result of drowning and not associated with rape, as has been insinuated,” the police added. “Investigation also established that the pool in which the victim was discovered was not a dug septic tank, as has been alleged.
“Investigation also established that the victim’s slippers were found floating near her in the open pit, not far from their residence, while the pampers she went to buy from Jalloh shop were seen lying beside the opened pit.”
The search for young Davies, the police said, lasted into the evening hours of July 24, leading to the discovery of her corpse floating in a dug pit that was being used for the mixing of concrete cement for construction work.
The distance from Davies’ home to the shop measures about 300 to 400 feet. However, it contains lots of misshaped structures — making walking in between difficult, the police said.
“It is a dug pit that people use to take water from for the purpose of mixing concrete cement. [The pit] is behind a new story building that is under construction. The open pit, in which the body was found, is not too far from the victim’s residence. It is also along a ‘shortcut’ route to the victim’s home.”
Meanwhile, the police have said that upon discovery of Davies's body, the county coroner of Montserrado organized a 15-man coroner jury, who examined the body and established no foul play, which prompted the return of the body to the family of the deceased for burial.
“Having thoroughly investigated and interviewed defendants that were arrested within the proximity of the incident scene, the crime of negligent homicide was committed on the part of the grandmother, and [she] would be charged in accordance with Chapter 14, Section 14.3 of the revised penal code of Liberia and forwarded to Court.”
Lomeal’s quest for justice for his daughter in this alleged rape case is not unique. Many family members of rape victims are forced to struggle for financial and legal support to achieve justice.
According to the United Nations Human Rights Addressing Rape Impunity in Liberia 2016 report, rape victims do not achieve justice due to multiple challenges, including institutional weaknesses, corruption, lack of due diligence by the government, as well as logistical and financial constraints.
“These combined factors have led to a widespread culture of impunity for SGBV, particularly for rape, putting women and children at continued serious risk of sexual violence,” says the report.