Prosecutors in North Carolina will not seek a retrial of a police officer charged in the shooting death of an unarmed man, according to a letter from the state attorney general’s office.

Officer Randall Kerrick of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department was charged with voluntary manslaughter after he shot and killed Jonathan Ferrell, a college student and football player, in 2013.

 

A judge last week declared a mistrial after the jury could not reach a verdict.

 

Prosecutors made their decision after speaking with jurors from the original trial. They said they will submit paperwork for dismissal of the charge.

 

“In consideration of the jurors’ comments, the evidence available to the State, and our background in criminal trials, it is our prosecutors’ unanimous belief a retrial will not yield a different result,” said the state attorney general’s letter to the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office.

 

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper said at a new conference on Friday that he still stands by the decision to bring the case to trial.

 

“The loss of Jonathan Ferrell’s life is a tragedy — it should not have happened,” Cooper said. “Our prosecutors have talked with Jonathan’s mother about this decision. It was the right thing to bring this case before a jury and seek a conviction, but now we need to listen to what the jury said.”

This is a disgrace. It is an act of cowardice. Instead of having the fortitude to retry the case, the prosecution caved under pressure like some weak chumps. The prosecution should have presented the case to a new jury and let the jury decide. In lieu of that, Attorney General Roy Cooper essentially decided the case for them.

Despite all of the pleasantries and phony expressions of concern, his message is loud and clear: Jonathan Ferrell’s life does not matter. Black lives do not matter.  They never have, and probably, never will.  Now, another black man is dead, and another white killer cop walks free. In fact, Randall Kerrick will probably be rewarded for killing Jonathan Ferrell. Kerrick will probably receive thousands of dollars for interviews.

Unfortunately, we are to blame for this outcome as well. We allowed ourselves to be pacified by a grand jury indictment and a trial. We lost focus and fell asleep at our post. For a second, we were deluded. We actually thought that justice was in sight. We stopped protesting and blogging about this case.

With virtually no pressure from the public, it was easy for the prosecutor to decide not the pursue the case. The prosecutor made his announcement on a Friday for a reason. Sadly, many of our people are more concerned about going to the club than they are about pursuing justice. By Monday, it will be business as usual and no one will give a damn about our brother Jonathan Ferrell.

[Originally posted at New Possibilities]

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“I CAN’T BREATHE”

Watching yet another incident of police brutality against a person of color that ends in tragedy. Watching another family have to grieve the unexpected loss of a family member for NO APPARENT REASON other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time….

“I CAN’T BREATHE”

Thinking of all the other cases that don’t make it to the Evening news. or on twitter, or on the cable news….thinking of all the families this has happened to who have cried out – and no one listened….

“I CAN’T BREATHE”

Remembering the names, Jonathan Ferrell, Renisha McBride, Miriam Carey, Amadou Diallo, Sean Bell, Eleanor Bumpurs, Abner Louima,  just ticking off name after name and feeling nauseated while doing so.

“I CAN’T BREATHE”

How many have to die before something changes? How many families have to be cast into grief because some of  those who are charged to protect  and serve do so not for all but for themselves or some other hidden agenda?

How many rallies, candelight vigils, round table discussions etc before  the injustice is turned on its head and becomes JUSTICE.

How long do we go along to “get along”, take less than, settle for what we “can” get and remain silent while the death toll mounts….

Don’t know how long – but after seeing both videos in the case of Eric Garner….

“I CAN’T BREATHE”

Land of the free and home of the brave should be revised to Land of the persecuted and home of  the terrorized.

The post Eric Garner – I Can’t Breathe….Either appeared first on Madness & Reality.

A partial grand jury in North Carolina has decided not to indict Randall Kerrick, the officer who fatally shot Jonathan Ferrell in September 2013.

 

After meeting for eight hours on Tuesday, the jury reportedly submitted a document to the county clerk of the court, not only stating it would not indict the officer on the charge of voluntary manslaughter, but also attached a handwritten letter respectfully requesting the district attorney submit a bill of indictment for a lesser charge.

 

However, Attorney General Roy Cooper said in a statement that the decision was not made by a full grand jury, and that his office plans to resubmit the request as soon as possible.

 

“Today, our prosecutors learned that the grand jury that considered the indictment on charges of voluntary manslaughter was less than a full panel. It would be in the best interest of justice to resubmit this case to a full grand jury, which we plan to do as soon as possible,” Cooper said.

 

Officer Kerrick was charged after shooting Ferrell 10 times when authorities responded to a breaking and entering call. Ferrell who had been involved in an accident, was seeking help in a nearby neighborhood when a woman called the police, thinking he was a robber. Ferrell ran toward the officers, who tried to stop him with a Taser. Police said he continued to run toward them when Kerrick shot him. Ferrell died at the scene. Both the local NAACP chapter and Ferrell’s family have questioned whether race played a role in the shooting.

In a rare move, the partial grand jury decided that there was insufficient evidence to indict the officer for voluntary manslaughter. I do not understand how they could possibly reach such a decision. That officer shot Mr. Ferrell 10 times. Mr. Ferrell was unarmed.  Mr. Ferrell did not pose a threat to anyone.

Because of Mr. Ferrell’s skin color that caller wrongly assumed that he was a robber.  Because of Mr. Ferrell’s skin color that police officer probably assumed that Mr. Ferrell was dangerous.  Mr. Ferrell was merely seeking assistance after a car accident.  Because of Mr. Ferrell’s skin color that jury had no problem allowing that officer walk.

Like the Trayvon Martin case, the Amadou Diallo case, the Sean Bell case and other countless cases, we are reminded that the white man’s word is sacrosanct and black life is worthless.

Tragically, white police officers and vigilantes are not the only people who devalue black life. Some lost brothers and sisters do not value the lives of their own people.  In another article, the Huffington Post reports that:

The shootings of two brothers within three weeks of one other has left a California mother mourning the loss of her only children.

 

Dinyal New, 41, admitted that she didn’t have the strength to positively identify both of her sons, instead asking relatives to do so for her, SFGate reports.

 

On Dec. 31, 2013, New’s younger son, 13-year-old Lee Weathersby, was shot dead while he was walking home from the Oakland Boys & Girls Club. Nineteen days later, her older son, Lamar Broussard, 19, died when the car he and a friend were in was sprayed with bullets, KGO reports.

Similar violence occurs in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, New Orleans and many other major inner cities around this nation. Such violence has become so routine and regular that many have accepted it as the new normal. Those endless tragedies do not receive the same level of attention as the Newtowns and Columbines.

That is yet another reminder of how insignificant black life is in this country. Instead of addressing criminogenic factors such as unemployment, poverty, inferior schools and the influx of firearms, the politicians and pundits continue to devalue black life by parroting empty slogans about personal responsibility and black pathology. As long as the underling conditions are not addressed, our cities will continue to be killing fields.

[Originally posted at New Possibilities]

The post Jonathan Ferrell: Shattered Dreams and Disposable Black People appeared first on Madness & Reality.

The irony of this quote is that yesterday — one day after celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day — a grand jury decided not to indict Officer Randall Kendrick for the shooting death of Jonathan Ferrell. In the event that this is your first time reading about this case, do yourself a favor and read what I wrote last September to play catch up. However, if you’re short on time, it’s important to know that Ferrell was shot 10 times by Kerrick while attempting to find help after crawling out of a badly mangled car after an accident. Kerrick was charged with voluntary manslaughter, but for now, as Charlotte’s WCNC reports, Kerrick has escaped a formal indictment in the shooting death of Ferrell.

Oh, I forgot to mention that Ferrell was black, and that Kerrick is white.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A partial grand jury has decided not to indict Officer Randall Kerrick for the shooting death of Jonathan Ferrell.

 

Kerrick was accused of voluntary manslaughter following the fatal shooting of former Florida A&M football player, Jonathan Ferrell, in September. Authorities have said Kerrick fired 12 shots, 10 of which hit Ferrell.

 

The case went before a partial panel on Tuesday for the charge of voluntary manslaughter. The true bill of indictment was returned with a “no” when the grand jury members were asked if Officer Kerrick did, against state law, feloniously kill and slay Ferrell.

 

In a rare move, the jury attached a handwritten note asking the District Attorney to file a lesser charge against Kerrick.

Definitely watch this video:

I’m disappointed because I was for sure that given the police dashboard camera video evidence, a grand jury would return with an indictment. It’s like the expert in the video above said, the bar is so low for a grand jury that they almost always return with an indictment. I am confused, however, because it isn’t clear whether they did review the video as evidence. Or, as WCNC also pointed out, the attorney’s for both sides aren’t aware of what evidence was reviewed. Furthermore, to add to my confusion, I’m wondering why there was only a partial grand jury. Hopefully this wasn’t part of the usual okie doke.

Jonathan Ferrell

At any rate, there’s nothing that I or anyone can do today to change yesterday;s outcome. What we can hope for is that Attorney General Roy Cooper will be successful when he resubmits the case to a full grand jury soon, as he said he would. Until then, my hope is that the outcome of this case isn’t yet another example of just how little value the bodies of black folk hold in the eyes of the law.

I’m not sure how I feel about a lesser charge as suggested, but something is better than nothing, right?

The post Officer not Indicted in Jonathan Ferrell Fatal Shooting appeared first on Madness & Reality.

This from The Detroit News:

The family of a Detroit woman shot to death after she is believed to have sought help at a Dearborn Heights home is calling for answers in the incident.

The family of Renisha McBride, 19, said she went for help after a car accident around 2:30 a.m. Saturday. She died of a gunshot wound to the head after knocking on the door of a home on the 16000 block of Outer Drive near Warren in Dearborn Heights, near where the accident occurred. Her cellphone battery had died, her family said.

Few other details about the incident have been released by the Dearborn Heights Police Department.

Rinesha McBride

“Dearborn Heights (has) identified the person who fired the shot and killed the woman,” according to a press release. The statement added that a final report on the shooting will be forwarded to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office for review in the near future.

McBride’s maternal aunt, Bernita Spinks, said the shooting was not justified even if the resident believed McBride was an intruder breaking into the home.

“He shot her in the head … for what? For knocking on his door,” said Spinks on Tuesday. “If he felt scared or threatened, he should have called 911.”

Spinks said the family met with officials from the Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday. Spinks said she believes her niece was racially profiled.

“You see a young black lady on your porch and you shoot?” said Spinks.

“He killed my niece and he needs to pay for it. He needs to be in jail.

“There was no window broken. My niece didn’t bother anyone. She went looking for help and now she’s dead.”

Now I know Detroit, Michigan is a pretty rough city. In fact, Detroit is so rough that violent crime are at historic levels. However, having said that, is it really that bad that someone can be shot and killed just for knocking on someone’s front door? I don’t live in Detroit; but I live in a city where old women get their false teeth and hearing aids jacked in armed robberies. However, I’d be lying if I didn’t say that this one is quite puzzling. Especially since relatives are of the belief that McBride was racially profiled, and there hasn’t been any sign of the race of the shooter. At any rate, hopefully the shooter doesn’t walk because police believe the shooting is justifiable, as I’m afraid it will be in the Jonathan Ferrell case. Because the truth is that no matter how dangerous the city of Detroit may be, someone knocking on your door at 2:30 a.m. isn’t a crime nor an imminent threat to one’s life.

Watch the story below:

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