No Justice In Ferguson: When Will It Come?

Justice – “A concern for peace and genuine respect for people. The quality of being just, impartial, or fair.”

In a solemn courtroom in the predominantly-white enclave of Clayton, Missouri, justice was denied for the parents of Michael Brown.

“They determined that no probable cause exists to indict Darren Wilson,” St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch said at a press conference Monday night that stung Black America and anyone interested in a just outcome.

No charges. No indictment. McCulloch said the fatal shooting of Michael Brown was justifiable self-defense.

After months of speculation, anxiety and anger, the worst fears for many African-Americans in the St. Louis metropolitan area – and across the country — were finally realized. A federal grand jury cleared Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson of shooting and killing unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown on August 9.

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“We are profoundly disappointed that the killer of our child will not face the consequence of his actions,” according to a statement by Michael Brown’s family.

What’s troubling to many African Americans – including myself — is that the grand jury’s decision was no surprise. It’s a travesty, it’s a mockery of justice, but sadly, it’s not surprising. Cops in America are rarely indicted for on-duty shooting deaths of Black men. Wilson was no different. And many Black residents in St. Louis were already prepared for the worst.

A friend sent me a text after the grand jury’s decision and asked: “So why is Michael Brown dead?”

Never mind that Brown was unarmed. Never mind that witnesses told investigators that Brown’s hands were raised when Wilson shot him. Never mind that Brown may have been trying to surrender when Wilson fired at least six bullets into Brown, who was not carrying a weapon.

Wilson’s defense was that he feared for his life. Did he think Brown, who was unarmed, would choke him to death?

The Ferguson grand jury – a panel of nine whites and three blacks – did the judicial process a grave disservice and they denied justice for Brown’s parents, who desperately need closure. The Black community needs some sort of closure, too. They may not have known Michael Brown, but they have taken up his cause for judicial, and moral, fairness.

Even President Barack Obama weighed in Monday night.

“We need to recognize that the situation in Ferguson speaks to the broader problems that we still face as a nation,” Obama said. “The fact is in too many parts of this country, a deep distrust exists between law enforcement and communities of color. Some of this is the result of legacy of racial discrimination in this country.”

My contention all along was this: Because there were so many variations of this tragic event – some witnesses said Brown’s hands were raised when he was shot, some say Brown was lunging at Wilson, forensic autopsies were inconclusive and complex – there is clearly reasonable doubt. And since there is reasonable doubt, Wilson should have been indicted, forced to stand trial, and a jury should have decided Wilson’s fate.

But this grand jury – a very powerful panel led by a controversial and overzealous prosecutor – never gave a jury the opportunity to do its work, preferring the end the matter in the Clayton courthouse where the entire case will be swept under the proverbial rug just days before Thanksgiving.

What part of “unarmed” didn’t the grand jury get?

I was in Ferguson in August to cover Michael Brown’s funeral. In the Black community, there is a total distrust of the judicial process—and for good reason. Black folks – whether young and unemployed or upper-middle class — never believed Wilson would be indicted.

“Many Black folks here believe this is a set-up to let Wilson walk,” said one longtime St. Louis resident.

Unfortunately, the appalling decision by the Ferguson grand jury is not isolated to the St. Louis community – its judgment echoes across this nation and will likely serve as a rallying cry for racial justice in America.

Once again, we are witnessing our young Black men being gunned down on the streets of this republic with no remorse, no judicial recourse – and no punishment.

But, “they are not being killed with impunity,” McCullough said.

So how many more unarmed young black men like Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis have to die before Americans – white, Black, and Hispanic – will say ‘enough is enough?’ When will Americans demand congressional hearings to overhaul police departments who allow such blatant murders? When will grand juries begin to indict white police officers who gun down Black men?

And here’s a question for this republic: When is the last time a white police officer has been involved in the shooting death of a young white man?

Americans are sharply divided along racial lines as to whether Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson should be charged with murder in the shooting death of Michael Brown, a new CNN/ORC poll out Monday finds.

Fifty-four percent of nonwhites — including blacks, Latinos and Asians — say Wilson should be charged with murder, while just 23% of whites agree. And 38% of whites say Wilson should be charged with no crime at all, while just 15% of nonwhites hold that position.

A combined total of 32% say a Missouri grand jury should charge Wilson with murder, while 25% say he should face lesser criminal charges and 21% say he should be charged with no crime at all.

So what now? Wilson can’t possibly return to his job patrolling the streets of Ferguson where he caused so much pain and where many Black residents want to see him behind bars. But police have told reporters they “haven’t decided” whether Wilson will return to the police force.

While the grand jury was gathering evidence in the Michael Brown case, the deep racial divide between black residents and white police could not be more apparent: The U.S. Justice Department was forced to order Ferguson Police officers to stop wearing “I am Darren Wilson” bracelets in support of Wilson.

So while the Brown family continues to grieve the loss of their son, Darren Wilson, the man who killed Michael Brown, walks free. He, unlike Brown, planned for his future all along: Wilson was married just 30 days ago.

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