Demands Comprehensive Criminal Justice Reforms
Monrovia, Liberia – Criminal Court “A” Assigned Judge D. Onesimus Banwon has issued a general call for reforms to the nation’s criminal justice system in what legal experts are characterizing as one of the most significant judicial policy speeches given in recent years. Cllr. Banwon warned that persistent trial delays, extended pre-trial detention, poor case management, unethical behavior, and issues with the jury system undermine public trust in the administration of justice.
Judge Banwon used the occasion to present what amounted to a thorough diagnosis of structural flaws affecting Liberia’s criminal justice system and to challenge every institution within it, from judges and lawmakers to prosecutors and defense attorneys, to embrace significant reform, instead of delivering a customary ceremonial charge marking the opening of the August 2026 Term of Criminal Courts A, B, C, D, and E.
Speaking on behalf of Chief Justice Yamie Quiqui Gbeisay, Sr., Banwon centered his speech on the idea that, although the nation’s polarizing system is still constitutionally sound, institutional practices that delay justice and undermine public confidence are increasingly undermining its efficacy. “Liberia operates an adversarial system, not an inquisitorial one,” Banwon reminded members of the Bench, Bar, jurors, and court personnel gathered for the opening ceremony. “The judge does not investigate. He does not gather evidence. He sits as a neutral umpire between two zealous sides, the State and the Defense.”
He maintained that the adversarial paradigm preserves justice since each side makes its best case in front of an unbiased court, allowing facts to come to light through thorough evidence testing as opposed to judicial inquiry. “But that elegant design collapses,” he warned, “when the system moves too slowly, too corruptly, or too compromised.”
Judge Banwon’s address of Monrovia Central Prison, also referred to as South Beach, was one of the best parts of his speech. According to him, the facility is one of the most obvious examples of the structural flaws in the legal system. “The Monrovia Central Prison facility is dangerously overcrowded,” Banwon declared, “not primarily by convicted criminals, but by pre-trial detainees Liberians presumed innocent under Article 21 of the Constitution.”
His worries are supported by the results that the Bureau of Corrections, foreign partners, and independent prison monitors have consistently reported. South Beach was initially intended to house about 374 prisoners, but it has long housed close to a thousand or more. Rather than being convicted criminals, a large percentage of those behind bars are awaiting trial.
Judge Banwon argues that such extended detention directly violates fundamental rights, such as the presumption of innocence and the right to a prompt and fair trial. “When an accused person sits in jail for months or years without seeing the inside of a courtroom,” he said, “justice delayed becomes justice denied.”
