Returning to the United States turned out to be a mistake for Emmanuel. He was immediately arrested and charged with obtaining a passport through false statements. He pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to 11 months in prison. This, however, was far from the end of his legal troubles.
To this day, the Liberian government has refused to prosecute any war criminals. Mass murderers such as Joshua Milton Blahyi, a rebel commander, openly confessed, on camera, to murdering children and drinking their blood before going into battle. He has claimed responsibility for 20,000 murders.
To this day, in Liberia, Blahyi remains a free man. Not only has he avoided prosecution, but he remains prominent in Liberian society. He has since reframed himself as a reformed preacher and claims to have been forgiven by God.
Emmanuel committed his crimes abroad. All of his victims were Africans who were foreign nationals. Nevertheless, the United States had jurisdiction over Emmanuel under a recently passed law. In 1994, the government passed the Torture Victim Protection Act to comply with an international convention against torture. The law which enabled the prosecution of those who commit torture overseas.
The law has limited applications. It requires that the perpetrator to have acted "under the color of law". Emmanuel's "Anti-Terrorist Unit" was a government-sanctioned organization. More importantly, he was an American citizen.
In 2007, Emmanuel was indicted for torture, conspiring to commit torture, and multiple firearm violations.
The indictment against Emmanuel
Among other things, U.S. officials said Emmanuel headed the "Demon Forces. Human rights advocates said the unit "did things like beating people to death, burying them alive, rape", especially against suspected political dissidents.
Given that Emmanuel had been involved in murder, he could've faced execution. However, U.S. prosecutors passed on that opportunity and did not specifically prosecute him for murder. They gave him an opportunity to plead guilty in exchange for leniency. Emmanuel turned down the offer.
Emmanuel went on trial in 2008. During the trial, more than 20 witnesses arrived to testify. Prosecution witnesses included victims, former bodyguards and members of the ATU, and US government employees involved in investigating the crimes. Defense witnesses included residents of the area where the alleged incidents occurred. They said they never saw Emmanuel commit torture and were not aware of the alleged incidents.
One prosecution witnesses, Rufus Kpadeh, said Emmanuel forced him and other prisoners rape each other. While this happened, Emmanuel would sit back and laugh. Others said he placed a victim naked in a pit and had fire ants shoveled onto his body. Emmanuel also used melted plastic, electric shocks, scalding water, and beatings with sharp metal rods on his victims.
In October 2008, Emmanuel was found guilty on 8 counts. He was the first person to be successful prosecuted under the Torture Act.
Federal prosecutors requested a 147-year sentence. They called Emmanuel's crimes a "gross offence against the public" and said the evidence strongly implicated him in at least one murder. Emmanuel's lawyers said he had not been convicted of murder and therefore should receive a sentence between 7 and 20 years.
U.S. District Cecilia Altonaga sentenced Emmanuel to 97 years in prison. "It is hard to conceive of any more serious offences against the dignity and the lives of human beings," she said. Emmanuel maintained his innocence.
Emmanuel's appeal (the appeal describes, in extremely graphic detail, the torture and murder committed by Emmanuel)
Emmanuel, now 44, is serving his sentence at the United States Penitentiary in Lee County, Virginia. He has lost all of his appeals. As it stands, he will spend the rest of his life in prison, with his de-facto release date being May 8, 2090. In 2021, Emmanuel issued a statement from prison. The statement was supposed to be an apology, but many in Liberia questioned its sincerity.
"I want to formally apologize for being a part of any negative thing that may have had any impact on our people. I apologize for not advocating for those who I should have advocated for. I want to formally apologize for having the ignorance of my youth guard my understanding… any of us would like to believe that what we saw in those days was for a greater good."
Emmanuel blamed his actions and being surrounded by terrible people who were a negative influence on him when was young.
"I am truly sorry, but I understand my errors and I pray to the almighty Creator that I have an opportunity at some stage to contribute to that correction. Because true reconciliation is a permanent exercise. This is not something that has to just be spoken about. And more importantly, God willing and the respect of our people, based upon actions, not just words."
"I am not one who yearns for attention or popularity. Very few people knew me or interacted with me in Liberia. And I created that mistake, so to speak. True men are straight. They control themselves, and attach themselves to a greater cause and make readjustment and face up to the states as men.
"I would like to make a full presentation before our people because context is important. I was not the commander of the ATU but to say that none of us made a contribution in securing [President] Taylor in securing him, will be wrong. But I will also say to the Liberian people they were personal not only against my life but against the old man."
Stephen Ellis, an expert on Liberia at the Africa Studies Centre at the University of Leiden, gave his own thoughts about the case. "I don't think there'll be much sympathy for Chuckie Taylor," he said. Even in Liberia, which still had "quite extensive political support" for Charles Taylor, Emmanuel was "universally disliked and even despised."
Ellis noted a puzzling contrast in the case. It seemed that Emmanuel had gotten exactly what he deserved. However, he said this was the first time the Torture Act had been applied. Understandably, there were not that many Americans going overseas and torturing people for foreign governments.
There were, however, far more Americans who had gone overseas and tortured people for the U.S. government. They had been given far lighter sentences or avoided prosecution entirely. "I don't know how this squares with the treatment accorded, for example, to US forces in Iraq," Ellis said.
So far, only one other American citizen has faced charges under the act. In February 2022, Ross Roggio, an American weapons dealer in Iraq, was charged with systematically torturing an employee over the course of 39 days. That case is pending.