Ferguson Braces For Grand Jury Decision LIVE UPDATES
http://rt.com/usa/208495-ferguson-grand-jury-reaction/
"A Ferguson grand jury is set to announce whether it will bring criminal charges against Officer Darren Wilson, who shot and killed unarmed teenager Michael Brown. The city is preparing for potentially huge demonstrations in the wake of the decision..."
Who is Responsible For Violence in Ferguson?
So realistically what can Obama, Washington, the federal government do, in the case of a non-indictment by this grand-jury? And more importantly what will they do?
In the Zimmerman case, when the local prosecutor said there was no evidence to support charges, they appointed a special prosecutor who was effectively a hired gun. But despite that (and her actions) she still couldn't manage a conviction.
But we've got it. No indictment
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/11/24/ferguson-grand-jury...
A system cannot fail those it was never built to protect.
A system cannot fail those it was never built to protect.
True, but it cannot indict someone simply because people want it to. You actually need evidence to do so.
Another sad day in America.
Darren Wilson walks: Grand jury will not indict Ferguson police officer in killing of Michael Brown
The announcement came during a highly unusual 20-minute statement Monday night from the St. Louis County prosecutor
A St. Louis grand jury decided to not indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson for the fatal shooting of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown on Aug. 9, prosecutor Robert McCulloch announced on Monday night. Wilson has reportedly already begun negotiations to resign from the Ferguson Police Department.
According to the Associated Press:
A grand jury of nine whites and three blacks had been meeting weekly since Aug. 20 to consider evidence.
At least nine votes would have been required to indict Wilson.
The Justice Department is conducting an investigation into possible civil rights violations that could result in federal charges.
Initial reports surrounding the shooting conflict, regarding whether or not Brown and his friend, Dorian Johnson were threatening Wilson. Several witnesses reported seeing Wilson pull over the two men on Canfield Drive, at which point he grabbed Brown and started threatening him. Brown and Johnson reportedly ran away, at which point Wilson unholstered his gun and fired at least six shots at Brown, who had his hands up in surrender, killing him. Police officials and one of Wilson’s family friends say that Brown was threatening Wilson, and Wilson shot at Brown in self-defense.
Ferguson, Mo. has been host to a steady stream of protests since Brown’s death, and the case has been a catalyst for a reinvigorated discussion surrounding police-civilian relations, in particular minority civilians, as well as the excessive militarization of the police. In the weeks following the shooting, hundreds of mostly peaceful protesters flooded the streets of the St. Louis suburb, chanting, “Black lives matter,” and “Hands up, don’t shoot.” They were met with a police force in riot gear, shooting rubber bullets and tear gas at demonstrators, armed with military-grade tanks.
The excessive response from the local police prompted a civil rights probe from the Department of Justice, under the leadership of then Attorney General Eric Holder, for a history of racial bias. Also accused of potential bias was St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch, the man responsible for presenting the case against Wilson. Not only does McCulloch have deep ties to the local police department, he also has a history of siding with law enforcement in similar cases. A petition to appoint a special prosecutor for the case organized by Mo. State Senator Jamilah Nasheed collected over 116,000 signatures.
Authorities have been preparing to crackdown on unrest in the aftermath of the grand jury’s decision: businesses have been boarded up, schools closed and barricades erected. The Federal Bureau of Investigations recently circulated an intelligence bulletin warning that the grand jury’s announcement “will likely” lead to violence from extremist protesters. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon also declared a state of emergency in the St. Louis suburb in preparation for a massive demonstration in response to the jury’s decision.
Indeed, groups of protesters have been organizing tirelessly since August– stocking up on items that will be needed for a conflict with police (maps, jail support phone numbers and medical supplies), designating safe spaces as well as “hot spots” likely to be host to more intense protests. The organizers have also written 19 Proposed Rules of Engagement, outlining guidelines for a nonviolent encounter with the police.
In an interview last week with the New York Times, Michael T. McPhearson, co-chairman of the Don’t Shoot Coalition, outlined goals of his movement: “It must be changing how police and citizens relate to one another. We’re calling for police accountability, police transparency, changing how the police do their work.”
http://www.salon.com/2014/11/25/darren_wilson_walks_grand_jury_will_not_...
Did I get it all Ken?
North, could you edit out all the advertising code or whatever that is below the link text that you posted? Thanks.
abnormal,
Perhaps you might want to reconsider this remark, eh!
A system cannot fail those it was never built to protect.
True, but it cannot indict someone simply because people want it to. You actually need evidence to do so.
Over to you Eric Holder
White supremacy lives on: Ferguson decision confirms absence of legal & moral justice
With "no indictment" announced against Darren Wilson, a perverted natural order of things was affirmed. Here's why
http://www.salon.com/2014/11/25/white_supremacy_lives_on_ferguson_decisi...
-------------------------------------
Obama to speak at White House tonite after Ferguson grand jury decides not to indict
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/120398/darren-wilson-free-obama-shoul...
A system cannot fail those it was never built to protect.
True, but it cannot indict someone simply because people want it to. You actually need evidence to do so.
US is a country of laws but not a country of equal justice for everyone. Also the grand jury procedure is by nature behind closed doors and not a trial afterall.
The prosecutor has a history himself and his whole family is in St. Louis PD,his dad was killed on duty. Its as if he and the PD did not want an indictment.
These two legal experts make a strong case that McCulloch never wanted to indict
Obama Speaks on the Ferguson Decision
The president made a statement just after it was announced that a grand jury decided not to indict Darren Wilson, as smoke bombs and broken glass spread through Ferguson.
Asked if he would go to Ferguson, Obama left the door open. "Let's take a look and see how things are going," he said. "Eric Holder's been there. We've had a whole team from the Justice Department there. And I think that they have done some very good work."
Holder, for his part, issued a statement just before 11 p.m. Monday, noting that the Justice Department investigation into the shooting continues
http://www.nationaljournal.com/white-house/obama-speaks-on-the-ferguson-...
Mike Huckabee compares Ferguson protesters to Medgar Evers’ killers in grotesquely bigoted blog post
"You don't see any monuments to Bull Connor or the killers of Medgar Evers"
http://www.salon.com/2014/11/24/mike_huckabee_compares_ferguson_proteste...
------------------------
Right-wing’s sick Twitter celebration: Ann Coulter, Ted Nugent, Brit Hume battle for grossest Darren Wilson tweet
Race-baiters on the right celebrate the grand jury's decision on Twitter, horrify everyone
http://www.salon.com/2014/11/25/right_wings_sick_twitter_celebration_ann...
Obama Speaks on the Ferguson Decision
The president made a statement just after it was announced that a grand jury decided not to indict Darren Wilson, as smoke bombs and broken glass spread through Ferguson.
Asked if he would go to Ferguson, Obama left the door open. "Let's take a look and see how things are going," he said. "Eric Holder's been there. We've had a whole team from the Justice Department there. And I think that they have done some very good work."
Holder, for his part, issued a statement just before 11 p.m. Monday, noting that the Justice Department investigation into the shooting continues
http://www.nationaljournal.com/white-house/obama-speaks-on-the-ferguson-decision-20141124
Same Justice Dept and Obama who justify and oversee a kill list is calling for peace. His hypocrisy knows no limit.
(Deleted, since the person it was directed to did what the post requested.)
Did I get it all Ken?
North, could you edit out all the advertising code or whatever that is below the link text that you posted? Thanks.
Yes, you did. Thanks. Makes the thread much more readable, since far less scrolling is now involved.
As one of the few Yanks on this board, I'm sickened and enraged by what the prosecutor and grand jury did here.
What happened in this decision represents the resurfacing of the worst of the white American spirit tonight...and all white people, in some way, are connected to the forces that produced this massively unjust decision, and all other decisions that inflict injustice and play working class people against each other on racial lines. We have an obligation, as never before, to let go of all racist inclinations, of any remaining sense that "if THEY gain, we lose", and to see the racial hatred that is kept fueled within us by the economic power structure for what it is...a chain, and a set of blinders, designed to keep us down and to prevent us from ever seeing the real enemy.
May the grief and rage of this evening someday lead to justice for all.
Cop walks free as predicted.
I agree with those who are outraged who have taken to the streets.
No justice,no peace.
One can only hope that the murderer Officer Wilson will one day pay for his crime. (Sorry,this pig deserves to have to look over his shoulder for the rest of his life)
abnormal,
Perhaps you might want to reconsider this remark, eh!
A system cannot fail those it was never built to protect.
True, but it cannot indict someone simply because people want it to. You actually need evidence to do so.
Not at all. Either there was evidence to charge Wilson or there wasn't. The grand jury decided that there wasn't and ruled accordingly.
And if they didn't think there was enough evidence to indict him do you honestly believe that, if this had gone to trial, there would be enough evidence to convict him?
The indictment itself is supposed to be an indication of whether there appear to be sufficient grounds for putting Wilson on trial. In the event that the grand jury had indicted, a trial itself, guaranteed to be a long, arduous process, would most likely not have had a very satisfactory outcome.
http://www.salon.com/2014/11/25/white_supremacy_lives_on_ferguson_decisi...
abnormal, your faith in the US criminal justice system is adorably naïve.
Ferguson isn’t about black rage against cops. It’s white rage against progress.
Protests and looting naturally capture attention. But the real rage smolders in meetings where officials redraw precincts to dilute African American voting strength or seek to slash the government payrolls that have long served as sources of black employment. It goes virtually unnoticed, however, because white rage doesn’t have to take to the streets and face rubber bullets to be heard. Instead, white rage carries an aura of respectability and has access to the courts, police, legislatures and governors, who cast its efforts as noble, though they are actually driven by the most ignoble motivations.
Read the Powerful Open Letter Ferguson Protesters Just Released to the World
The ‘system’ you have told us to rely on has kept us on the margins of society. This system has housed us in her worst homes, educated our children in her worst schools, locked up our men at disproportionate rates and shamed our women for receiving the support they need to be our mothers. This system you have admonished us to believe in has consistently, unfailingly, and unabashedly let us down and kicked us out, time and time again.
This same system in which you’ve told us to trust--this same system meant to serve and protect citizens-- has once again killed two more of our unarmed brothers: Walking up a staircase and shot down in cold blood, we fight for Akai Gurley; Playing with a toy after police had been warned that he held a bb gun and not a real gun at only twelve years old, we fight for Tamir Rice.
So you will likely ask yourself, now that the announcement has been made, why we will still take to the streets? Why we will still raise our voices to protect our community? Why will still cry tears of heartbreak and sing songs of determination?
We will continue to struggle because without struggle, there is no progress.
We will continue to disrupt life, because without disruption we fear for our lives. We will continue because Assata reminds us daily that “it is our duty to fight for freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love and support one another. We have nothing to lose but our chains.”
...
A system that protects the rights of some and does not guard the rights of all. And until this system is dismantled, until the status quo that deems us less valuable than others is no longer acceptable or profitable , we will struggle. We will fight. We will protest.
Grief, even in its most righteous state, cannot last forever. No community can sustain itself this way.
So we still continue to stand for progress, and stand alongside anyone who will make a personal investment in ending our grief and will take a personal stake in achieving justice.
We march on with purpose. The work continues. This is not a moment but a movement. The movement lives.
This letter was written and signed by numerous protestors and supporters, too many to list. Permission is granted in advance for reproduction by all outlets.
Black Lives Matter
Montreal: https://www.facebook.com/events/1596341370593757/
Ottawa: https://www.facebook.com/events/841656039219268/
I am utterly undone: My struggle with black rage and fear after Ferguson
I woke up in black skin today -- and felt its scourge. After Ferguson, here's what "rule of law" means to me now
http://www.salon.com/2014/11/25/i_am_utterly_undone_my_struggle_with_bla...
The law may have spoken but the Ferguson verdict is not justice
It is through this chasm, between the official claim to an impartial legal system and the reality of endemic racial injustice, that Wilson made his escape, with the flames of Ferguson in hot pursuit. For Wilson was not exonerated. The grand jury decided there was not even “probable cause” to put him on trial. As the website FiveThirtyEight points out, this is very rare. The Bureau of Justice reveals that in 2010 US attorneys prosecuted 162,000 federal cases, and grand juries declined to return an indictment in just 11.
....
So those who misunderstand the verdict as an isolated incident are doomed to misunderstand everything that flows from it: from the riots, justifications, denials and rationalisations to the calls for calm and expressions of rage. For this was never just about one teenager, one policeman, or one verdict.
...
Nor is it a morality play in which a decent, black child is slain by a malicious, white cop. The inherent nature of the injustice was not systematic (Wilson had never discharged his gun before), but systemic. He operates in an organisation where few police are sanctioned for killing black youths; and in a culture where armed white men can cite their fear of unarmed black men as a defence. A fear so intense that they have to shoot them. Have to. Since, apparently, no other possible outcome was possible. He “had the most intense aggressive face”, Wilson told the grand jury. “[He] was like a demon, that’s how angry he looked.”
“A system cannot fail those it was never meant to protect,” wrote the black intellectual WEB Dubois. The verdict has met the low expectation of many African Americans. The law has spoken; justice has yet to make itself heard.
Ottawa: https://www.facebook.com/events/841656039219268/
The Ottawa page was taken down apparently (according to a radio host) due to the reaction people had over comments about white allies taking up space, refraining from speaking to the media and either standing behind black folks or between them and the police. It was center stage for a few radio shows this morning and chats around the water cooler.
Black Lives Matter: Ferguson Erupts After Grand Jury Clears Officer in Michael Brown Killing
We hear from St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch and go to the streets of Ferguson where Amy Goodman interviewed protesters.
http://www.democracynow.org/2014/11/25/black_lives_matter_ferguson_erupt...
...
"It is Officially Open Season on Black Folks": Legal Expert Decries Handling of Wilson Grand Jury
video & transcript
http://www.democracynow.org/2014/11/25/it_is_officially_open_season_on
...
Riot as the Language of the Unheard: Ferguson Protests Set to Continue In Fight For Racial Justice
video & transcript
http://www.democracynow.org/2014/11/25/riot_as_the_language_of_the
So what do people want? ignore the evidence and put Wilson on trial? And then when they try him ignore the evidence again?
Reminds me of the westerns shows I grew up with - "We'll give him a fair trial. Then hung." Or in the KKK days "lynch him".
But what do people want?
abnormal, your faith in the US criminal justice system is adorably naïve.
Ferguson isn’t about black rage against cops. It’s white rage against progress.
In short, let's ignore the facts in this case and lynch Wilson (inspite of the evidence) because there are major social problems.
Sorry, but much as I agree with the "social problems" question I find it difficult, if not impossible, to pillory an individual because the country as a whole has problems. Individual cases have to be considered on their own merits, not on some sort of high level ethical plane. "Why did Wilson shoot Brown and, given the circumstances, was he justified in doing so?" That has nothing to do with whether or not blacks are treated "fairly" whatever that may mean. It solely relates to Wilson and Brown.
They didn't need a trial; the verdict was guilty from day one.
So what do people want? ignore the evidence and put Wilson on trial? And then when they try him ignore the evidence again?
Reminds me of the westerns shows I grew up with - "We'll give him a fair trial. Then hung." Or in the KKK days "lynch him".
But what do people want?
You are using oppressive language and are clearly trying to bait and be incendiary by using the term "lynch".
I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt and ask if you are being rhetorical in your questions? Because its sounds like you've made up your mind Abnormal.
This is a thread for anti racism in case you did not read it. If you do not want to engage seriously, I would suggest you go elsewhere.
Ferguson2TO Solidarity Protest Nov.25 2014
Toronto stands with Ferguson. https://vimeo.com/112965659
TV and print media did not cover it well. They missed the whole point by focusing on how some white folks who identify as allies were ANGRY about not being front and centre last night.
Guess its easier than actually reporting about deaths at the hands of Toronto Police.
The Ottawa page was taken down apparently (according to a radio host) due to the reaction people had over comments about white allies taking up space, refraining from speaking to the media and either standing behind black folks or between them and the police. It was center stage for a few radio shows this morning and chats around the water cooler.
I only saw a few people who took issue with the perfectly reasonable request. And one was clearly a troll who had started out earlier inthe day by sneering that the vigil was going to turn into a riot, only to later switch into faux-outrage mode that white people were being to told not to make themselves the focus of an event that he wasn't even going to be attending.
And yet, the Globe and mail, CBC, and CTV all decided to make this non-issue front and centre in their coverage of the rallies. Shameful doesn't even begin to cover it.
I watched two local reports tonight. CBC at 6 Toronto with Nil Koksal did manage to report with context and interviewed relatives who were killed at the hands of police.
NYT article on Ferguson:
"In this context, the police are justifiably seen as an alien, occupying force that is synonymous with state-sponsored abuse "
Everything the Darren Wilson grand jury got wrong: The lies, errors and mistruths that let Michael Brown’s killer off the hook
The prosecutor's document dump was designed for transparency. It shows how transparently flawed the process was
http://www.salon.com/2014/11/26/everything_the_darren_wilson_grand_jury_...
What do people want? Maybe action against racism. Yes, that goes beyond the one case.
But surely, abnormal, you don't think the jury system is free of racism?
Look at the composition of prison populations to see how imbalanced the jury and justice system is on both sides of the border.
Rev. Sharpton: Legacy of Civil Rights Movement Shows Need for Feds to Bring Justice if State Fails
video & transcript
On Tuesday, the family of Michael Brown held a press conference at a church not far from Ferguson. Michael Brown Sr. was present but did not speak. He wore a red St. Louis baseball cap similar to the one his son had on when he was killed by Officer Darren Wilson, and a t-shirt that read, "No Justice, No Peace." The Brown family’s attorney Benjamin Crump and the Rev. Al Sharpton criticized St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch’s handling of the grand jury process.
http://www.democracynow.org/2014/11/26/rev_sharpton_legacy_of_civil_rights
Black Girl Dangerous:
On Ferguson Protests, the Destruction of Things, and What Violence Really Is (And Isn’t)
In the wake of the Darren Wilson decision and the ensuing protests, I’ve been hearing the word “violence” thrown around by journalists and social media commentators alike. It’s strange to me, because when these people use the term violence, they’re not talking about what happened to any of the people named above. The brutal and unnecessary killing of unarmed Black women, children and men by police officers isn’t called “violence” by any of these people. They’re also not talking about protestors of this police violence being tear-gassed or shot with rubber bullets by police for exercising their right to peaceably assemble. That, to these journalists and Twitter trolls, isn’t “violence,” either. What is “violence” to these people? Property damage. Looting. The destruction of things.
Remark about weaves?! LOL
My own feeling, given the racism that prevails in America, that tying up traffic is fine. In fact more the merrier. The marchers in the Lincoln Tunnel and on the bridges and highways should learn to mingle with traffic, even if moving at 100 km per hour. Let the marchers march and the motorists drive.Black Girl Dangerous:
On Ferguson Protests, the Destruction of Things, and What Violence Really Is (And Isn’t)
In the wake of the Darren Wilson decision and the ensuing protests, I’ve been hearing the word “violence” thrown around by journalists and social media commentators alike. It’s strange to me, because when these people use the term violence, they’re not talking about what happened to any of the people named above. The brutal and unnecessary killing of unarmed Black women, children and men by police officers isn’t called “violence” by any of these people. They’re also not talking about protestors of this police violence being tear-gassed or shot with rubber bullets by police for exercising their right to peaceably assemble. That, to these journalists and Twitter trolls, isn’t “violence,” either. What is “violence” to these people? Property damage. Looting. The destruction of things.
When the people seek justice for those killed, what's happening with Michael Brown protests will look like a picnic.
So what do people want?
Do they want the Grand Jury to ignore the evidence presented to them and indict Wilson simply because people wanted it to happen?
And, if he was tried, do they want the jury to ignore the evidence and convict him?
Sounds a lot like the Westerns I grew up with when the line was "You'll get a fair trial. Then hung."
abnormal,
You are defending the indefensible - please give it a rest, eh.
White supremacy lives on: Ferguson decision confirms absence of legal and moral justice
With "no indictment" announced against Darren Wilson, a perverted natural order of things was affirmed. Here's why
http://www.salon.com/2014/11/25/white_supremacy_lives_on_ferguson_decisi...
So what do people want?
Do they want the Grand Jury to ignore the evidence presented to them and indict Wilson simply because people wanted it to happen?
And, if he was tried, do they want the jury to ignore the evidence and convict him?
Sounds a lot like the Westerns I grew up with when the line was "You'll get a fair trial. Then hung."
Such a disengenous post. And the kicker: a hanging reference in a thread about the wonton execution of black Americans.
So what do people want?
Do they want the Grand Jury to ignore the evidence presented to them and indict Wilson simply because people wanted it to happen?
And, if he was tried, do they want the jury to ignore the evidence and convict him?
Sounds a lot like the Westerns I grew up with when the line was "You'll get a fair trial. Then hung."
abnormal your post #78 and this one are almost identital. First you use the word lynching and now hung.
Who bother commenting here at all?
So what do people want?
Do they want the Grand Jury to ignore the evidence presented to them and indict Wilson simply because people wanted it to happen?
And, if he was tried, do they want the jury to ignore the evidence and convict him?
Sounds a lot like the Westerns I grew up with when the line was "You'll get a fair trial. Then hung."
So what do you want? Do you really want the grand jury to consider the evidence? Or do you want them to press charges, evidence be damned? And if that were to happen, do you want the trial jury to find him guilty (again, evidence be damned)?
Fact is that the only thing that will satisfy the protesters is to lynch Wilson - after all, he doen't deserve a fair trial. Or does he?
