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| Michael Brown |
This month, the United States
has been in a state of social unrest as people everywhere continue to try and
make sense of the death of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager who was
shot and killed by officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri. After Brown was
killed, many communities in Ferguson and across the country came together in
protest, and the world watched as peaceful demonstrators, Ferguson residents,
and journalists were tear-gassed, arrested, and assaulted by law enforcement.
Now that the initial, tragic
chaos has begun to settle, many people are demanding answers, and justice, for
Michael Brown. According to The
New York Times, “The
F.B.I. has opened a civil rights inquiry into the shooting, and Attorney
General Eric H. Holder Jr. arrived in Ferguson on Wednesday [August 20th]
to meet with investigators. Locally, the case is being handled by the St. Louis
County Prosecutor, Robert P. McCulloch, but there have been calls to have it
shifted to a special prosecutor. A grand jury began hearing evidence
Wednesday,” of the legal proceedings that have begun to take place.
Many media outlets have begun
consulting prominent legal analysts such as former federal prosecutor Kendall
Coffey, analyst Jack Ford, sociology professor Ron Stewart, and others to try and understand the direction this
case is going to go in.
Ford discusses the role of
the grand jury, explaining, “the grand jury is not a trial jury. They don’t
decide guilty or not guilty. All they decide is if there is probable cause to
determine if a crime has been committed, and that the defendant was involved in
it.” Ford also mentions George Zimmerman, and like many, draws parallel between his actions
and those of Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson.
Coffey has discussed the
significance of Attorney General Holden’s early intervention in Ferguson,
pointing out that it might be an attempt to keep the peace there. In a recent interview for Newsmax Coffey explains, “We all have to recognize that this is an extraordinary
thing for the U.S. attorney general to go on to the scene of an investigation
at its early stages. […] In the attorney general’s mind, perhaps it’s going to
calm the community down, but it’s going to put more pressure on prosecutors and
FBI agents because they are going to perceive that the guy at the top wants
some action,” of how Holden’s presence is influencing the investigation.
Fox News legal analyst Peter Johnson notes that “In Missouri if a felon is fleeing, under
certain circumstances, deadly force is allowed to be used,” of a key aspect of
Missouri law that could significantly impact the outcome of this case. Almost
every legal expert that has discussed Michael Brown has drawn connections
between his death and that of Trayvon Martin, in which a self-defense strategy
allowed for Zimmerman, Martin’s killer, to avoid a prison sentence.
Some predict that the grand
jury investigation will continue until at least October. It’s safe to say that
Brown’s friends and family, the people of Ferguson, and the rest of the country
are all waiting anxiously for the grand jury verdict, and for the truth.
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