Crime The Michael Brown shooting

Here is what Dan Abrams, legal analyst for ABC said about it....
"I, like many analysts, have repeatedly emphasized that this process has been markedly different than what would typically transpire in a grand jury. Ordinarily, a prosecutor calls one or two police witnesses, has them read from their reports, asks for a particular charge -- and almost always get it. The grand jury shield intended to protect an accused from an unwarranted trial is often pocked with gaping holes.....
Here, the grand jury was given access to far more wide-ranging evidence. When that evidence and the supporting documents and photographs were released late Monday night, we learned that the grand jurors saw everything from the testimony of Officer Darren Wilson himself, to autopsy reports, photographs, blood and gunshot residue evidence and often conflicting eyewitness accounts. While the rules of evidence didn't apply the way they would in a trial, there was no defense attorney present and no cross examination of witnesses, the process was far more akin to a typical trial than what ordinarily occurs in the grand jury process.

Just as important, the prosecutor didn't ask for a specific charge as almost all prosecutors do in front of a grand jury.....While it's true that most grand juries serve as a rubber stamp for prosecutors, what so many seem to be ignoring is that in most cases where a prosecutor has doubts or lacks faith in the case, she or he doesn't present the case to a grand jury at all. Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch was under no obligation to present the case to any grand jury. As many prosecutors, particularly in police shooting cases, have done before him, he could have simply determined there was insufficient evidence to take the case to trial and ended it there. Typically, if a prosecutor reviews all the evidence and becomes convinced she/he doesn't have a solid case, the case concludes with no charge and no grand jury ever reviews the case.....To just say "well why not let a jury decide" discredits the 25 days these grand jurors spent reviewing evidence. Yes, this process was different in that they also spent far more time than a typical grand jury does reviewing evidence. Most important, in certain similar cases it might not have been heard by a grand jury at all. That doesn't mean that the grand jury necessarily "got it right," but simply that the system did not disintegrate here.....It is a legitimate retort to say that if that is our system then it needs to change. However the process typically works, some will legitimately argue, more police officers need to be held accountable for the shooting of young African-American men. Fair enough, but that does not change the reality that in this case, with these facts, the system does not appear to have been compromised."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/ferguson-grand-jury-necessarily-bad-thing/story?id=27176127

So let's say McCullough never even considers a grand jury....that was an option. Where would we be now? Considering the evidence and testimony that not only he reviewed but a grand jury took 25 days to review and STILL no charges, I think it's likely that even with a jury trial, Wilson is not convicted.

 

are the ones who confirmed Browns story lying?
oh wait, we didnt get his side of it.
How about the construction workers who said he gave up and his hands were up from the video that was posted on CNN weeks back.

 

Not what I was saying. I was challenging the inherent bias in the comment Tiger in NC posted. I don't believe most cops are the way he describes any more than I believe that most young black men find themselves on the opposite side of legal behavior.

 

likely, but the process was not more typical of a trial, there was no prepared charges, opening statements to convince the Jury of the prosecution of the officer.
How is that even remotely like a trial, he gave them a bunch of conflicting stories and said here.

 

Some witnesses did admit outright lies. There were some who claimed they saw it all and then changed to say they only heard about it. One claimed Wilson shot Brown while he was on his knees. Johnson originally told the media that Brown was shot in the back...an eye witness closest to the action and yet the autopsy showed no shots to the back. The construction workers were 50 yards away...eye witnesses who were closer have said anything from Brown was surrendering to he didn't have hands up to he was looking at his wounds to he appeared to be gesturing "now what". With so much contradiction, what is a jury supposed to do other than look at the evidence?

 

Abrams did not say it was typical of a trial....he said it was closer to being a trial than it was to being a typical grand jury process. Those critical of the DA don't seem to realize that he could have just not brought charges, could have only called police reports, could have avoided evidence presentation,could have kept all the information sealed. So one can say he fell short or one can say he went the extra mile.

 

I guess live to fight another day means give chase to the guy that you thought was gonna kill you by whipping your ass. If you were that afraid, and you were by yourself, let him run. You have his description. You know what he looks like. Hell you've already shot him so you have his DNA. Now he's running away. Let him run. Where the fuck is he gonna go? You think a guy who fits the description of someone who just stole some cigars is gonna hop a flight to a non-extradition country? You've called for backup, go find him when you have help. I know as a cop you're supposed to stop the criminal but you're also supposed to de-escalate the situation. Did you think this guy who assaulted you after you "politely" (lol) asked him to move out of the street is gonna just stop and surrender? And he's so big and bad against wittle ole you but you still got out and gave chase. I thought nothing of any of this until I saw his interview. Then I was like, if you were so terrified for your life, why the fuck did you chase him? The DA has said "he did what he had to do to survive." No he didn't.

And there was no way that Grand Jury was going to indict. How could they? They were given a pile of shit. Based on the handling, it was the right decision. Doesn't mean it's not fucked up though.

Michael Brown was an idiot and a criminal but he did not deserve to die. It's a shame folks are so callous that they believe otherwise. People have SHOT AT cops and lived to have their day in court. Those nuts in Nevada point guns at law enforcement but are only exercising their 2nd amendment rights. The DOJ is going to find that local law enforcement shit the bed on this investigation. And when the Brown family pursues a civil suit against local law enforcement, they will probably win. At the end of the day, former Officer Wilson is no longer the issue. He's an unfortunate pawn in a bigger game. I have near as much sympathy for him as Brown/Brown's family.

 

This I find to be my perspective. I would do just about anything to avoid calling the police. There is quite a bit of data to support the amount of sexual assault by those who carry a badge. I was taught to respect authority and I do, yet I do have a fear of some police officers.

 

Yeah, well you were the one who started expounding on what you know about fist fights first, Red, so you can drop your accusatory tone about me trying to be an "internet tough guy," whatever in the fuck that means. You know nothing more about me than I do about you so your speculation about my knowledge of, or lack thereof, fisticuffs is a moot point, and frankly, it doesn't really amount to a pile of shit anyway.

Not all punches cause lacerations but punches from full grown men, and these are the words you used to describe Michael Brown earlier in this thread, cause a hell of a lot more damage than the little scuff on the right side of his face, the side that was supposedly facing away from Michael Brown. No one disputes the fact that Michael Brown was in the car, no one disputes the fact that there was a scuffle in the car and, based upon the evidence, it appears that MB was the aggressor. That said, Darren Wilson's story doesn't add up and that has been my point all along. Of course his blood was in the car, he was shot by Darren Wilson because he claimed that he "feared for his life...." Feared for his life because Michael Brown was beating him so viciously......except that his wounds don't corroborate his story.