Maryland ritual killings explained

The Maryland ritual killings were a series of ritualistic murders that occurred around Harper, Maryland County, Liberia in the 1970s. The crimes have been regarded as "Liberia's most notorious ritual killing case" due to the number of murders, the involvement of high ranking government officials and their subsequent public executions.[1]

History

Between 1965 and 1977 over 100 murders occurred in Maryland County, many of which were considered ritualistic due to the mutilation and removal of body parts. During the 1970s, Liberians in Maryland County were constantly under the threat of ritual murders. Between November 1976 and July 1977, 14 people had disappeared in the county prompting Liberian president William Tolbert to fire Superintendent of Maryland County, James Daniel Anderson, who failed to report the missing people. Tolbert publicly declared "Anyone who kills deliberately: The law will kill that person".[1] [2]

These murders went unreported and uninvestigated until the murder of a local fisherman and popular singer, Moses Tweh. Tweh was abducted on June 26, 1977. His body was discovered on July 4, 1977, heavily mutilated with his eyes, ears, nose, tongue and penis removed. Prior to the discovery of Tweh's body, Wreh Taryonnoh, the girlfriend of Assistant Supervisor of Schools, Francis Nyepan, was allegedly heard by a group searching for Tweh saying that "if they would be so lucky to find him, only his bones they might see". This sparked the arrest of 12 people, a majority of whom were government officials.[3] [4]

Arrests

In July and early August 1977, 12 people were arrested:

Executed

Died before execution

Pardoned

Released

The accused were forced to walk through the street naked "carrying two buckets loaded with sand". They were allegedly tortured during interrogation.

Trial

During the first Harper Trial, Joshua Brown and Teah Toby were released and later became state witnesses. The other ten defendants were found guilty and sentenced to public execution by hanging. Tagbedi Wisseh appealed his conviction and was pardoned by Tolbert before execution. Wonplu Boye and Koti Weah both died before execution, it was rumored their own family members poisoned them to avoid shame.

Execution

On 16 February 1979, the seven remaining people convicted of Moses Tweh's murder were publicly hanged at dawn in Harper. The media dubbed them the "Harper Seven".[5] [6]

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Book: Aimé Muyoboke Karimunda. The Death Penalty in Africa: The Path Towards Abolition. 16 March 2016. Taylor & Francis. 978-1-317-03633-3. 82–.
  2. Web site: Liberia's elections, ritual killings and cannibalism (2011). ritualkillinginafrica.org. 15 August 2018. 10 January 2019.
  3. Book: Liberia. Supreme Court. Liberian Law Reports: Cases Adjudged in the Supreme Court of the Republic of Liberia. 1978. Cornell University Press. 9780801413803 .
  4. Book: Mary H. Moran. Liberia: The Violence of Democracy. 17 July 2008. University of Pennsylvania Press. 978-0-8122-2028-5. 111–.
  5. http://www.liberiapastandpresent.org/MarylandRitualMurders08.htm The Maryland Ritual Murders. The Final Verdict: Death By Hanging
  6. http://www.theperspective.org/2005/jan/ritualistickillings.html Ritualistic Killings Spark Mob Action in Maryland

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