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On one hand, grand juries almost never fail to indict.
On the other hand, when grand juries do fail to indict it's usually because the subject is a law enforcement officer - grand juries routinely let them off for things that would send you or I to trial at least, and most likely to prison.
Quote:
Former New York state Chief Judge Sol Wachtler famously remarked that a prosecutor could persuade a grand jury to “indict a ham sandwich.” The data suggests he was barely exaggerating: According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. attorneys prosecuted 162,000 federal cases in 2010, the most recent year for which we have data. Grand juries declined to return an indictment in 11 of them.
Wilson’s case was heard in state court, not federal, so the numbers aren’t directly comparable. Unlike in federal court, most states, including Missouri, allow prosecutors to bring charges via a preliminary hearing in front of a judge instead of through a grand jury indictment. That means many routine cases never go before a grand jury. Still, legal experts agree that, at any level, it is extremely rare for prosecutors to fail to win an indictment.
Quote:
Cases involving police shootings, however, appear to be an exception. As my colleague Reuben Fischer-Baum has written, we don’t have good data on officer-involved killings. But newspaper accounts suggest, grand juries frequently decline to indict law-enforcement officials. A recent Houston Chronicle investigation found that “police have been nearly immune from criminal charges in shootings” in Houston and other large cities in recent years. In Harris County, Texas, for example, grand juries haven’t indicted a Houston police officer since 2004; in Dallas, grand juries reviewed 81 shootings between 2008 and 2012 and returned just one indictment. Separate research by Bowling Green State University criminologist Philip Stinson has found that officers are rarely charged in on-duty killings, although it didn’t look at grand jury indictments specifically.
Nice post. As a person of color, African-Americans need to look in the proverbial mirror. MLK helped tear down the walls for us. There will always be racists and discrimination but the damage we inflict on our own people is the root cause of our problems. We have to treat each other better.
Iyanla Vanzant went to Ferguson and I like how she explained how the elders did not do right by today's generation. When our kids were shooting each other and robbing, the family members should of called them to the carpet and nipped that mess in the bud. Now everybody turns a blind eye and has accepted bad behavior. There is also a divide between people who take care of their children and those who leave them to fend for themselves or in gangs. Black people are not all the same which may surprise some people like the OP.
In a way, I think it's up to the black race to hold each other accountable if we want to improve our situation. Some don't want to hear it, some don't believe it but we shouldn't expect for the "white man" to do anything for us, especially justice. I'm amazed in my meager job how some black people see me and think that "I've made it!" Made it where? This is a free country. I went to the college, signed up, went to class, did my homework, graduated and got a damed job. Anybody can do it if you apply yourself. No permission required, anymore. I expect no less from my own children.
As far as Mike Brown, I really don't know what to think. I saw the convenience store video and he looked guilty. As a human, if a cop tells me to get out of the street or put my hands up. I'm gonna do whatever he tells me because I know he has a gun and the law on his side. As a black person, I would know there is a bias towards my skin color and be extra cautious.
As far as all the protesting and looting; this should of happened when Zimmerman got off for murdering Trayvon Martin. I think the true cause of the protesting and rioting is a mix of hatred for the police, injustice everywhere and the militarizing of police forces. I understand what the protests are about but think maybe they picked the wrong case.
Excellent post.
Quote:
Originally Posted by marilyn220
You can tell those who have no lives off the internet or life experiences. It's sad.
Yes, it amazes me as well, those who make this type of statement and have a high number of posts.
kettle meet pot
Last edited by caligirlz; 11-28-2014 at 02:57 PM..
Yes, it amazes me as well, those who make this type of statement and have a high number of posts.
kettle meet pot
I've been here since 2006 though and STILL have a life outside of this place.
And believe it or not, I take VERY LONG breaks from this forum. I only posted in this one, because the OP requested AA opinions on the mindset of a group of black people that we know NOTHING about, unless we are out there protesting with them or live in their town.
I also would never post a "Whites can I ask you question please?" post either. LOL
What really kills me is the constant posts that Sharpton or Jesse controls the MILLIONS of blacks in America with just ONE word. LMAO!!
I mean seriously? Do they ever READ what it is that they write or say?
I can't speak for Ferguson blacks, because 1) I don't live in Ferguson and 2) contrary to what many whites believe, black folks are not connected to a "borg" where we can all instantly tap into one another's thoughts.
You can tell those who have no lives off the internet or life experiences. It's sad.
I never understood why Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are brought up as often as they are, it's only in the minds of the people here on citydata... This assumption that we are all victims looking to Sharpton or Jackson to be our saviors and those two alone are the speakers for the black community and so what they say goes. Meanwhile those of us that are black and have far different experiences are like what???
Like I said, it's almost always ignorance, so I excuse it as that. But I also wonder why they want to lump us altogether so often, does it make it easier to try to understand us that way? By making us into this foreign large community where everyone is alike, as opposed to acknowledging that just like everyone else in the US we are all individuals and the black folks they see depicted in the media are not a representation for every black person in this country? I don't get it. But I guess I don't have to.
[quote=Unsettomati;37446964]It depends on how you look at it.
On one hand, grand juries almost never fail to indict.
On the other hand, when grand juries do fail to indict it's usually because the subject is a law enforcement officer - grand juries routinely let them off for things that would send you or I to trial at least, and most likely to prison.
All police shooting go before a grand jury in Texas....I'm taking it that you think that most of them are guilty...May I suggest that you go and talk to a criminal trial attorney before you make any more comments!!!!!
A FELON (robbery, assault) who was walking in the middle of the street obstructing traffic (Misdemeanor), was told to move to the sidewalk (insult to blackness!), and when the officer realized that the man was a suspect, reversed his vehicle to investigate. Subsequently, the suspected FELON assaulted the police officer and attempted to escape (FUGITIVE from justice), then returned to attempt assault (Felony) once more, and was shot.
Did Mr Brown "deserve" (to be worthy, or merit) to be shot?
He merited PUNISHMENT, after conviction. But remember, Mr Brown was not cooperating.
Thus the officer was JUSTIFIED in shooting Mr Brown, because of Mr Brown's behavior, not his race.
Those who use RACE BAITING tactics to inflame useful idiots are either PREDATORS or allies of PREDATORS.
Tolerance of predators, like Mr Brown, is unmerciful to the next victim.
This might be old news but I'm going post it anyway.
WAS MURDERED FERGUSON MAN A GRAND JURY WITNESS?
Questions are swirling over the unexplained murder of DeAndre Joshua, found dead in his car on Tuesday morning, with some speculating that the 20-year-old may have been the victim of a retribution killing for testifying in front of the grand jury in the Michael Brown shooting case.
Joshua was found dead inside a parked car near Ferguson’s Canfield Green Apartments around 9 a.m. Tuesday, just two blocks from where Brown was gunned down by Officer Darren Wilson.
I wasn't. When I read the DA's background months ago when this first started and many of his comments on the situation I knew this was going to be a "good old boys" type deal.
Unfortunately, for Darren Wilson, the only people that believe his insane story are folks from his town and many Citydata posters.
Like I've said repeatedly, Wilson is either a 1) crazy racist, 2) corrupt cop or 3) suffering from skizophrenia with his raging, bulking, grunting hulking demonic eyes crap of a story when referring to Brown.
Hopefully, they keep Wilson on the force and place him in a WHITE SUBURB where he won't see "hulking, raging, grunting demons" that will attack him just for asking a question anywhere.
On citydata alone, in the last three days, at least 10 threads have been started by white city-data-ers with questions that start with "Question for black people" or "black people do you" or "black people why don't you speak up about XYZ"... I can't fathom what it's like to use an online forum to speak to an ENTIRE group of people that you apparently can't speak to off the computer. I can't imagine what it's like to imagine that all black people think alike, have the same experience, and thus can answer your questions and speak for the millions of black people that they don't know themselves. What's blatantly clear is that SOME of the white individuals on citydata don't interact with black people very often and thus their "insights" about the black community are based largely off of what the media tells them, what they hear and the conclusions that they've formed based largely on ignorance. I don't necessarily fault the latter--ignorance after all is largely a result of NOT knowing. But the difference between me, and the people that start these types of threads, is that when I'm "ignorant" I don't pretend to know, make assumptions, or ask questions that reveal my ignorance. I TRY to learn, by directly educating myself as much as possible. For instance if I really WANT to know about a particular topic, I'll do research. I'll place myself in situations where I'm exposed to that topic. I'll get objective information. I'll get to know the XYZ'S and circumstances of that topic. And then only once I've learned all that I could, will I say what I know. Until then I keep my mouth shut. I suppose the OP was trying to "learn" by asking a question to black people on city-data, but the problem is, the black people on citydata aren't speakers of the black community as a whole. We are individuals. We don't all protest. We don't all have the same feelings about this case. We don't all have the same experiences. So there's a great probability that the answers you'll get from the SMALL percentage of blacks on this site, will not in anyway provide the type of insight you're hoping to gain from what apparently to you is some monolithic black force.
What's more? We don't need advice or insights from white people who don't interact regularly with black people(apparently) about what we need to do to make our monolithic community better so we can stop blaming whitey.
Excellent post. Too bad it will fall on deaf ears and won't be addressed by the OP.
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