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off topic open thread racism

No indictment: Open thread to discuss Ferguson

Not photoshopped. Police gather under holiday sign in Ferguson tonight.
Not photoshopped. Police gather under holiday sign in Ferguson tonight.

Open thread on Ferguson. No trolls, no MRAs, etc.

Post useful links in the comments; I’ll add some to the post.

EDIT: Links after the jump.

Protest planned in Toronto

Petitions:

https://www.change.org/p/robert-p-mcculloch-prosecute-officer-darren-wilson-for-the-unlawful-shooting-that-killed-18-year-old-michael-brown

http://iam.colorofchange.org/petitions/governor-nixon-remove-mcculloch-and-appoint-a-special-prosecutor-in-the-case-against-darren-wilson-1

Bail and legal fund for the protesters:

http://antistatestl.noblogs.org/post/2014/08/11/bail-and-legal-fund-for-those-arrested-during-ferguson-anti-police-demonstrations/

Articles on what’s going on:

http://journolist.tumblr.com/post/94563772619/michael-brown-remembered-as-a-gentle-giant-st

10 ways you can help the people of Ferguson:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/19/how-to-help-ferguson_n_5688541.html

Grand juries indict 99.99% of the time (literally)

Darren Wilson’s “injuries?”

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/11/the-photos-of-darren-wilsons-injury/383155/

Transcript: http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2014/images/11/24/darren-wilson-testimony-snippet.pdf

The full grand jury report: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2014/nov/25/darren-wilson-not-indicted-ferguson

Home-made tear gas mask tutorial: http://black-culture.tumblr.com/post/94529711883/hey-guys-i-need-your-help-spreading-this-on-social

Petition #HandsUp: We Demand National Change to Protect Citizens and Communities from Police Violence and Misconduct: https://www.change.org/p/president-barack-obama-we-demand-national-change-to-protect-citizens-and-communities-from-police-violence-and-misconduct

Donations to collaborate with the legal fund for the people arrested in protests in Ferguson: https://secure.piryx.com/donate/mS25KFCe/MORE/mikebrown

Edmonton protest:  http://allthecanadianpolitics.tumblr.com/post/103532910989/edmonton-protest-for-justice-for-mike-brown-and

A letter from the forensics office complaining that they had not been given adequate access to the crime scene evidence to make a ruling

Update on the situation in Ferguson: http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/11/25/3596782/ferguson-the-morning-after/

THE NATIONAL BAR ASSOCIATION RESPONDS TO THE GRAND JURY’S DECISION NOT TO INDICT POLICE OFFICER DARREN WILSON

http://gawker.com/the-shooting-in-darren-wilsons-words-michael-brown-loo-1663023343

http://www.salon.com/2014/11/25/i_am_utterly_undone_my_struggle_with_black_rage_and_fear_after_ferguson/

A list for donations you can give to Ferguson’s schools:

http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/search.html?bigMap=true&nwLat=38.92064&nwLng=-90.75600&seLat=38.43068&seLng=-90.03502

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M. the Social Justice Ranger
M. the Social Justice Ranger
9 years ago

@Paradoxical

… Oh bloody hell I hope so. Is it too early to cross every body part I have that’s capable of crossing?

ParadoxicalIntention
9 years ago

I hope not, M, because I’m doing the same. We need this to happen. We need this so very badly.

freemage
9 years ago

ParadoxicalIntention | November 25, 2014 at 3:26 pm

https://www.change.org/p/the-supreme-court-of-missouri-take-the-case-of-michael-brown-popularly-dubbed-the-ferguson-case-to-the-missouri-supreme-court-with-ferguson-officer-darren-wilson-as-the-accused

Here’s another petition to sign.

Is this something that can legally happen? I’m pretty sure that, at a minimum, someone would have to bring suit to bring a ruling from the SCOM–Supreme Courts rarely, if ever, just hop in with a ruling without some sort of appeal to their authority. I’d like efforts at remediation to focus on the stuff that the system actually allows for (and, of course, to changes in the system itself.)

(OTOH, I note that apparently double jeopardy does NOT apply to grand jury decisions, so another GJ could be convened to re-hear the evidence, presented by a prosecutor who isn’t softballing the presentation, and the indictment could come from that.)

ParadoxicalIntention
9 years ago

I think it would work with the law that states that Double Jeopardy doesn’t apply to grand jury decisions.

I think that since this case is getting so much attention, and the fact that it’s pretty damn obvious there’s so much contention here, re-trying the grand jury with a better prosecutor would be good.

kittehserf
9 years ago

Conservative Troll: I’ve deleted your disgusting comment. Fuck off and don’t come back.

acrannymint
acrannymint
9 years ago

I can only assume McCullough has his eyes on a bigger prize after that speech last night. And why the hell would anyone who knew the potential results of the announcement do it at night? Answer: he wanted all hell to break loose so the ignorant could say “see how those people are”

ParadoxicalIntention
9 years ago

acrannymint

I can only assume McCullough has his eyes on a bigger prize after that speech last night. And why the hell would anyone who knew the potential results of the announcement do it at night? Answer: he wanted all hell to break loose so the ignorant could say “see how those people are”

I also heard a very interesting theory that the reason they held the grand jury yesterday is because the media will be so focused on Black Friday and the upcoming beginning to the holiday season that most outlets will forget about all of this by tomorrow because OHEHMGEE SHOPPING FOR CHRISTMAS HAPPENS.

The police, the government, they all want to forget this ever happened, and they want media attention away from them so they don’t have to restrain themselves anymore.

Tracy
Tracy
9 years ago

I have nothing intelligent to add. I’m just sick.

cassandrakitty
cassandrakitty
9 years ago

I am confused as to why Conservative Girl assumed that mocking misogyny had to include hating black people. Perhaps she misread the tagline?

Bye bye, asshole. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out and so on.

Michelle C Young
9 years ago

I am so incredibly sad and disappointed right now.

indifferentsky
9 years ago

Fuck. I am mad. I wasn’t going to pay attention to any of this, just for personal reasons, at the moment, and I go to facebook, purpsosely ignore the posts and go play games, but no. I had to take a look at a news post from back home in California and I had to click on it, and see the comments.

omg. People get mad because other people protest things?
Why? I know why, I’m just venting. So mad. So sad.

Crissa
Crissa
9 years ago

I know I wouldn’t be let near that jury – with my history being my father was wrongly shot and killed by police when I was a child. It appalls me that the prosecutor would have a similar, but reverse story and be expected to be impartial, if I would not.

And why is it that in Grand Juries, it’s only when it’s a police officer does the defense get to speak? Doesn’t that bug anyone else? No other suspect would have his statement read into evidence, let alone testify.

ParadoxicalIntention
9 years ago

Anonymous apparently has evidence that Darren Wilson is connected to the KKK, but the person who gave the information asked them not to release it until they can independently verify it because it could be traced back to the source, and that person would be killed.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/anonymous-ferguson-killer-cop-darren-wilson-linked-kkk-ghoul-squad-1475953

GerardO
GerardO
9 years ago

I’m commenting from another country, but I have to ask Americans why they don’t instigate a system similar to the military, ie. a separate judicial system for police. An incident where a police officer uses lethal force could be referred to an independent panel for investigation, and so on.

Robert
Robert
9 years ago

I’m reminded of Batman’s unheard declamation to Superman in “Dark Knight”, when he says, (from memory, my apologies)
“You always knew what to say, Clark. You always said Yes to anyone with a badge or a flag. Your parents taught you that. My parents taught me a different lesson, as they lay shaking in deep shock, dying on a dirty sidewalk for no reason at all.
They taught me that life only makes sense when you force it to.”

I have no love for Frank Miller, but I goddamn love that.

katz
9 years ago

I’m commenting from another country, but I have to ask Americans why they don’t instigate a system similar to the military, ie. a separate judicial system for police.

Because we’re not in charge?

Unimaginative
Unimaginative
9 years ago

Yeah, I’m getting the sense that the jury went way beyond the call of duty and seemed to actually try to reach a guilty/not-guilty verdict rather than simply deciding if there should be a trial.

The grand jury was purposefully confused, it would appear. Here’s Lawrence O’Donnell. The tl;dr of it is that:

– the grand jury is made up of laypeople who don’t know about nuances of the law, so they are instructed by the prosecutor(s) as to what to pay attention to, and what the laws are.
– the law the grand jury was given described when and what kind of force police are permitted to apply–and it had been declared unconstitutional years before the prosecutor even went to law school.
– she went back and corrected those instructions, weeks later, in the most confusing possible manner. Seriously, she was like “yeah, we gave you some wrong instructions, so you can ignore parts of that, but some of it was good, so don’t ignore those parts, but we’re not going to tell you which parts were wrong.”
– therefore, the grand jury had no fucking idea about the fucking law they were supposed to be fucking deciding whether Wilson fucking broke or not.

http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/shocking-mistake-in-darren-wilson-grand-jury-364273731666

Every lawyer involved in this fucking shit show needs to be disbarred.

There is still a federal case open, and the family still has civil suit options. I’d make hopeful noises about the US government drafting some new laws to prevent this kind of debacle, but the Republicans are taking over, so it going to be cruel stupidity being passed and then vetoed, and absolutely nothing useful being done, for the foreseeable future.

thebewilderness
thebewilderness
9 years ago

Wilsons story is obviously bogus in a number of ways. That is so not what goes down when you are apprehending a perp. I was particularly puzzled by his saying how very frightened he was of a guy the same size as him. Drive away d00d. If you are scared and sitting in an SUV you do not reach out and grab the suspect. You drive away till backup comes. There is no point anywhere in his story where he followed procedures, None. He violated all the rules from start to finish, one violation after another, any one of which ought to have been cause for disciplinary action.

cassandrakitty
cassandrakitty
9 years ago

Anyone who’s genuinely scared of an unarmed teenager while armed and in uniform themselves has no business being a cop. In this case, though, I think the word we’re looking for is less “scared” and more “liar”.

maistrechat
9 years ago

Necroing this thread to comment: I did three months of grand jury service earlier this year. Here are my thoughts based on that experience:

Yeah, I’m getting the sense that the jury went way beyond the call of duty and seemed to actually try to reach a guilty/not-guilty verdict rather than simply deciding if there should be a trial

This was a constant issue and caused some heated arguments between jurors. That being said, one of the judges (before the Michael Brown shooting) mentioned that multiple days of deliberation is pretty much standard in police shooting cases. He also said that police shootings are pretty much the only cases where there’s ever any doubt whether or not an indictment will be issued.

the grand jury is made up of laypeople who don’t know about nuances of the law, so they are instructed by the prosecutor(s) as to what to pay attention to, and what the laws are.

At least at the level I was on, there’s no judge involved in the grand jury proceedings until the end of the day when they sign indictments/warrants. The prosecutor has total control and forcing a “no” would require no significant effort.

– the law the grand jury was given described when and what kind of force police are permitted to apply–and it had been declared unconstitutional years before the prosecutor even went to law school

This was more than we got – we were told we could examine the law if we wanted too but it was only ever described in detail if one of us asked a specific question.

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