Justice! Liberia and Sierra Leone Breathe a Sigh of Relief at Charles Taylor’s 50 year Sentence

Monster Vanquished! Charles Taylor is given a 50 year prison sentence.

At times it never appeared that ex-warlord and President of Liberia Charles Taylor would ever be brought to justice for his evil and wicked crimes against the people of Liberia and Sierra Leone. Here was a man who raped, murdered, maimed, stole and ate other human beings, yes that is correct, ATE other humans. Much of the instability of the West African region from the late 1980′ until the present day can be traced back to the sick mind of this man and yet, for a time, it hung in the balance if justice and punishment would be meted out to this devil incarnate. Thankfully the International World Court, with billions of eyes watching, handed down a guilty verdict in April and three days ago followed that up with an emphatic period at the end of the sentence in the guise of a 50 year prison sentence for Charles Taylor. Given his age (64) Taylor will spend the rest of his earthly life in prison where he will be hard pressed to engage in the horrific crimes and malfeasance he did while he ran unabated throughout West Africa answering to no one.

Make no mistake about it, Charles Taylor is an educated and charismatic individual who still, sadly, has many supporters in Liberia and around the globe, I for one am not one of them. Taylor came to his people as a wolf dressed in sheep’s clothing and he nearly eliminated an entire country after he had finished feeding on their trust and hearts (literally). I am glad this monster is where he belongs, in a cage. But still there is much to mourn. He left Liberia in ruin and those who suffered because of him still limp around the country or Freetown, Sierra Leone with missing body parts and limbs. Then there are the hundreds of thousands who had to find justice beyond the grave. But still his sentence was a mighty victory for West Africa and it made me realize all the beautiful children at Liberia Mission Incorporated where I lived and worked for 2 years have had one more road block on their path to recovery forever eliminated from their midst.

Chuck…..your load has been packed! No more pepper soup and fufu for you!