Damn.. right when I was going to get some sleep... Ok.. Lets see.. : Abnew Louima(settlement?), Armadu Diallo (dead), Michael Brown (dead), Akai Burley(dead), and my personal favorite: Donovan Lawson who although wasn't killed, had his skull shattered because he didn't pay his fare by as black cop. Go figure huh... Those are just the ones out of New York City I can remember but I'm pretty sure there were more. Of course, there's always the ones that don't make the news too. To their credit, NYPD did tase a naked black guy who was batshit crazy instead of putting 50rds in him. Must have been a payday..
Cman, do you believe people should be charged with a crime and forced to go through an entire trial that could result in life in jail when their is no evidence to prove guilt? The only evidence that could have convicted Wilson of any crime was falsified testimony. There's NO chance that a prosecution could have proven beyond all reasonable doubt he committed a crime. None. So what purpose does moving forward with a trial accomplish besides making some people feel better about the race problem and wasting taxpayer money?
If there is no evidence, then there won't be a conviction. However in high profile cases like this, it sometimes helps to defuse a situation by letting a trial happen. Kinda like having an election when you already know there's only one guy running for office. You do it anyway instead of simply appointing the winner because people need to feel like they have a voice. Making people feel better about a race problem IMO is better than what you're seeing tonite in Ferguson. I'm not saying these actions are justified in the least. In fact, I've been harshly critical of it since the first minute. Had there been a trial by a jury of his peers, Wilson would have been found innocent and the system would appear to be administered with a even hand. Instead, it appears that Wilson got a pass, another black kid is dead, and nothing ever changes. The system has to work for everybody, or it really doesn't work for anybody. I'm sure prosecutors have brought cases to trial with less than ideal evidence. In this case, it appeared as though the Police Chief, the Mayor, and the entire Law Enforcement community was reluctant even to investigate and if it wasn't for the public scrutiny they found themselves under, there most likely wouldn't have been a grand jury either. The process took too long and honestly, once I saw the racial makeup of the grand jury, there was no chance whatsoever of an indictment. They had the 9 acquittal votes built in and the blacks were there simply as window dressing so no one could say it was a lily white jury. With all the taxpayer money saved on the trial that didn't happen, how much money now has to be spent to put what's left of Ferguson, Mo. back together again. At this point, it may be better just to let them burn Ferguson to the ground and abandon that city entirely.
all this back and forth wont get us anywhere if we continue the nonsensical "Wilson is guilty because white cops can't shoot black men justifiably" reasoning at the expense of the more logical reasoning of his guilt being: Charles Manson is white. Charles Manson is a murderer. Wilson is white. Therefore Wilson is a murderer. do we even need to discuss this any further?
It's sad that a protest was used as an excuse to burn stores and loot. Those protesters are just sheep and few wolves used that as a cover to commit crimes.
During his September 16 grand jury testimony, Wilson, 28, recounted how he tussled with Brown when the teenager grabbed for his gun while lunging into the squad car. As they fought over the weapon, Wilson testified, the teenager taunted him, yelling, “You’re too much of a pussy to shoot me.” That^ is what these protesters are fighting for. Really?
If you look at the protest in Hong Kong vs Ferguson, you have to wonder. You would have thought there was a lesson to be learned there. I'm sure the Hong Kong PD under orders from Beijeng, wanted to crack heads and take names but they didn't. Why? The protests were largely peaceful but got their point across and their voices heard. Ferguson on the other hand was just a riot. With the entire world watching, hooligans reduced the entire black population of Ferguson under the age of 30 into wild animals that need to be put down harshly. They turned Ferguson, Mo into the West Bank. Now there is no sympathy whatsoever the next time some kid is shot and we all know there will be a next time. There always is. If it were up to me, I would pull back the entire LEO contingent to the outskirts of Ferguson. Let all the law abiding people that want to get out leave, then cordone off the town. Let them burn it to the ground but not spend one penny on a rebuild. Why? just to remind these idiots that actions have consequences and this is what happens when you loot and destroy your own neighborhood. I wouldn't rebuild any stores either. Just cash out the insurance and relocate. The "Protesters" of Ferguson fckd this up beyond repair. There is no way they can get anything positive from this. Just imagine if you're an employer and you get a resume with a home address that says Ferguson, Mo. Where do you think that resume winds up???? My people can be mindbogglingly stupid sometimes..
China is practically a different planet. The police there sympathize more with the people than they do with their political masters. In Ferguson, the people protesting, or what passes for it, were protesting against the power mongers standing right in front of them behind riot gear.
The black people in Ferguson hate white cops so much they had no problem letting white ass Wilson in when he responded to the 911 call about the baby having trouble breathing that put him in that area to begin with. Brown got what he deserved. The black community of Ferguson, if they want to ignore evidence, logic and the concept of personal responsibility and prefer to continue to be the puppets of Al Sharpton, the liberal media and other other race baiting groups who want to keep them angry and stupid so they can be exploited deserve what they get. This has nothing to do with justice; justice has been served with the grand jury's ruling. They don't want justice for Brown or themselves they want injustice to defend their rights to behave criminally if they choose so.
Bloggers had "the fix is in" articles all loaded and ready to go based solely on the fact that the grand jury was given all available evidence; and, as the argument goes, this was done to confuse the grand jury and return no true bill. I'm sympathetic to the point. The implication there is that we WANT grand juries with low thresholds for indictment. I don't. But I do think think this process was skewed. There's a fundamental problem when you have a presentation of all evidence with no ability to cross examine, particularly because of the secrecy of the grand jury process. It shouldn't give anyone confidence, and I'd have the same problem if the grand jury returned an indictment. Better to have an open and public probable cause hearing like they did for OJ Simpson. That said, as you point out, the fact that a cop shooting even went to a grand jury is unique. Usually, the grand jury is just confirmation for charges that have already been filed. It just looks like the DA twisted himself in knots trying to be thorough, and in the end NOBODY would have been happy with the result. But I also disagree with the premise that a jury trial would or could have diffused this. That's been proved wrong time and time again. See the first Rodney King case. See the Travon Martin trial. And then see also Casey Anthony, OJ Simpson and a long history of American jury trials that prove the point that - Americans will defend the jury trial system; we just don't trust juries. We actually count on juries being manipulable, although we hate it when they're manipulated in a way we don't like. In the end, there is a Ferguson constituency that would only be satisfied with Wilson's head on a pike. These protesters/rioters/looters were cocked and loaded two months ago. All they needed was a next event.
http://fergusoncitywalk.com/ Unfortunately there are many good people who probably don't have the means to pull up roots and move, and in addition to that, another reason being (as you mentioned), trying to secure a job elsewhere with 'Ferguson' on your resume.
One will be alive and one dead because when told to get out of the middle of the street the dead one cursed at the officer, when Wilson tried to open the door Brown slammed it back on him, Brown then hit Wilson in the face and after Wilson drew his gun Brown gabbed it and said "You are too much of a pussy to shoot me", then after Brown ran he decided to turn around and charge Wilson according to witnesses testimony. When aggressors like Brown stop trying to hurt police officers is when we will be able to have a true dialogue about stopping unwarranted police violence against young males. There are certainly enough cases to discuss where the officer was in the wrong but the public loses focus of those when incidents like Ferguson take over the news. Now instead of really discussing the issue the sides are divided between those that think Brown was wrongfully shot and those that are wondering why protestors are burning and looting in support of a common criminal.
You have brought up the 9 whites on the grand jury a couple of times as if they put those people on there to come up with the vote they wanted. The only reason this even went to a grand jury was because of community pressure, the prosecutor probably did not want to knowing there was not enough evidence, you shouldn't need to go to grand jury let alone a jury trial just to appease the masses. Certainly there are cases of officers abusing their power and those need to be brought to light but this is not one.
They absolutely did stock that grand jury. That's the purpose of juror challenges isn't it? It works to prevent jurors with preconceived ideas about a case. It also serves to seed the jury with those that may be sympathetic to your case or your defendant. 9 whites in Mo. delivered the verdict. I would love to see the vote on this as just like Congress, it most likely will fall along racial lines. Instead of having to convince the 3 blacks, the Prosecutor only had to convince the 9 whites. A much easier proposition by any measure as whites tend to side with LEO's more than blacks. 9 was the magic number as it takes 9 to indict. 9 whites on that grand juror was no accident. Don't forget where this took place. Mo. is perhaps one of the more racial states in the union. How do I know this? Many trips there as my wife is from Mo. and my Brother in Law married a white woman. 25 years later, they still get the hate filled stares when we go out from both tribes.
Grand jury was picked long before Brown was even shot and the judge chooses them, there are no challenges.