It’s 9:06 pm EST. The grand jury is due at any moment to announce their decision on whether to indict Darren Wilson, the white police officer who shot and killed black teenager Michael Brown in August. The grand jury has been deliberating for almost 3 months now, almost a record time in what some perceive to be a simple decision as to whether to charge a person with a crime or not.
I’m watching the coverage on nbcnews.com right now. One thing that catches my eye is the list of school closings that are flashing across the bottom of the screen. That part alone makes me sad. Why should this decision have any bearing on the safety of schoolchildren tomorrow?
Things are bad in Ferguson, Missouri. They are. I just can’t imagine there will be some sort of charge short of murder that the grand jury will send down that will make the community satisfied.
I’m hearing now that tens of thousands of dollars that have been spent to arm the police against riots and looting should the grand jury decision be in favor of Darren Wilson.
People are scared. People are nervous. On both sides. How can either side feel relaxed no matter what the decision is?
Hopefully there will be no violent reactions But if there is no indictment, will people be satisfied with that? Will they understand why that decision was made?
The announcement is now being made. Here we go. Robert McCulloch, the St. Louis County prosecutor, is making a statement.
Ferguson Grand Jury: The decision has been made (image courtesy NBCNews.com)
One very interesting point: all of the witnesses’ testimonies were presented before the grand jury had any of the autopsy results.
It sounds to me as if the grand jury was very very thorough. They listened to hours of witness testimonies, expert analysis, hundreds of photographs, and other pieces of evidence that were presented to them.
A major point: there is no argument that Darren Wilson did cause the death of Michael Brown. The grand jury was charged with deciding who was the aggressor and whether or not this was a case of self-defense or a criminal offense.
Keep in mind that the grand jury are the only people who have seen all the evidence.
The Ferguson Grand Jury Decision
The grand jury has returned a “no true” bill on all of the indictments. They found no evidence to charge Darren Wilson with any of the five criminal charges that were brought before them. McCulloch said that some statements from witnesses were “completely refuted by the physical evidence.”
McCulloch went into great detail about the witnesses’ testimonies and the autopsies’ results.
Will Ferguson accept this result? Will the Ferguson grand jury decision be accepted as true and fair, or will that decision ignite further rage and riots in a town that is already on the edge?
A statement from the Ferguson grand jury appealed to the people of the community to remember that the purpose of the grand jury is to analyze all scientific and forensic evidence. McCulloch said “No young man should ever die.” He also addressed the issues that lead to incidences like this, to continue to focus on these issues in a constructive way, not in a destructive way.
By statute, the grand jury cannot reveal whether the vote was unanimous or not. McCulloch tried to make this clear as he was questioned by those witnessing the official statement. He acknowledged that witnesses with conflicting statements would probably not be charge with perjury, as those witnesses truly believed what they saw, even if it wasn’t factually correct.
He confirmed that all witnesses that testified that Michael Brown was the aggressor in the situation were all African-American.
All of the evidence will be released to the public later this evening. McCulloch pleaded for the understanding of what the grand jury has gone through for months, saying that they have “poured their heart and soul” into making sure they came up with a fair and partial decision.
McCulloch urged parties on both sides who had made up their own minds about this, no matter what the grand jury decision, to try to move forward and work to avoid situations like this. He reiterated that a three-month grand jury was not “passing the buck” or trying to just push this situation under the rug. They went above and beyond to make sure everything was considered fairly.
At this point, the case and investigation are closed, making the file open to the public.
Obviously many are not happy with this decision, the family of Michael Brown suffering the most. But at the same time, 12 people who come from a diverse racial and social demographic reviewed the incident and made a decision. Does that lessen their pain? Not even remotely.
This was a tragedy. This decision will not satisfy those who feel Darren Wilson was in the wrong. Was the legal system right? Was justice served? The family of Michael Brown does not agree.
I think that McCulloch did everything he could do to make sure that everyone knows that everything was done to present the physical evidence to the grand jury and that the grand jury made their decision lawfully, based on fact, and not based on emotion.
Reports of looting already have started, even before the press conference was over. I don’t understand why riots and looting are considered “the answer” to something like this. Even the family of Michael Brown have called for peace no matter the grand jury decision.
This will be a long night for the people of Ferguson and the family of Michael Brown.
Please…how is looting and rioting going to make this better? Please, you call for peace. Demonstrate peace!