The Grand Jury was Instructed to Indict Michael Brown---Yes, you read that right.

[kpete]

FRI DEC 05, 2014 AT 02:29 PM PST
The Grand Jury was Instructed to Indict Michael Brown
by VetGrl

Yes, you read that right. The grand jury was instructed to indict Michael Brown for assaulting a police officer. Not technically, of course, because Michael Brown is dead.

This is from Sheila Whirley's instructions just before the grand jury began its deliberations:

Now, what makes this a little bit different is that if you will look on page, the first page, it talks about assault of a law enforcement officer in the first degree. And that's part of the indictment because the officer is saying he was arresting him for assaulting him.

So that's what you would be considering in your deliberation and we have provided you with definitions of assault in the first degree, on the second page is assault in the second degree and the third degree. And then also a law enforcement officer's use of force in making an arrest. An officer can use force in making an arrest, got that laid out for you.

Vol. 24, page 134-35 (emphasis added). Right after that, Alizadeh jumps in to make her "correction" regarding the deadly force statute.
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1370537-grand-jury-volume-24.html

This is madness.

Not that it mattered to the prosecution, but it was Wilson's burden to raise the deadly force statute as his defense. At trial.

.....................

The long and the short of it is simple: the grand jury was instructed to find that Michael Brown, a dead kid who literally cannot raise his voice in his own defense, committed a crime.
MORE:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/12/05/1349746/-The-Grand-Jury-was-Instructed-to-Indict-Michael-Brown

[brush]

1. Amazingly disgusting

Racism at work in America.

And the sheeple on the jury proceeded to do just as they were instructed.

[noiretextatique]

2. Misery AG agrees

waiting for indictments...

[billhicks76]

29. Dead Kids Tell No Tales

The kid can't even defend himself in court.

[Kalidurga]

3. They did not just want a no bill

they wanted to send a message. I think that it's been heard.

[CincyDem]

4. Now I understand how this was really good news.

Here I've been thinking it was bad news that Wilson wasn't indicted when all along it's really good news for the community - the "Democratic" DA steered the grand jury away from indicting the dead black kid.

Now it all makes sense. My outrage has been assuaged. I can go back to worrying about whether Kirsty Alley will be on next year's Dancing with the Stars. God it's good to live in post racial America. Maybe next year, we'll all be able to buy lawn jockeys at Walmart for the holiday season...oh the thrill of it all.

Please, tell me I don't need this.

[heaven05]

5. great one

Last edited Sun Dec 7, 2014, 09:44 AM - Edit history (2)

especially since the other day I had the same thought. I bet I'll be seeing more of those old racist lawn jockeys more and more after January 2015. I remember seeing those things for many years. Didn't know the 'difference' between the black ones and the white ones till I started learning real amerikkkan hisssssstory and thinking for myself, outside the typical educational 'box' that is.

[JustAnotherGen]

30. I had some errrr fellow hooligan I mean

Fellow friends in high school that kind of went on a lawn jockey baseball spree one summer. Diverse group of hooligans - but hooligans just the same. These days - they would get shot for that - but in summer of 1990 people started painting them white in a few towns in Western NY.

I don't approve of vandalism but if that's the worse thing a bunch of snotty prep school kids could do to make a beer fueled point - ahhhh they were young then.

[wandy]

13. I would be careful with those christmas lawn jockeys...........

You might be accused of being on the wrong side in the war on christmas.
It's supposed to be a baby, three old white guys and a camel huddling in the North African snow.

Tanj, even the slightest humor in this travesty requires this.

[japple]

18. Oh, hell no. It's supposed to be a mama and a daddy and a baby

in a manger PLUS 3 old white men, sheep, oxen, a donkey and a camel.

You left out more than half of the cast of characters.

[japple]

17. Rule #1. ALWAYS USE THE SARCASM SMILIE.

Cannot count the number of times I've been jumped on or dumped on for a sarcastic comment. Never comment in jest without the sarcasm smilie.

[zeemike]

6. So it was the victim of the shooting that was on trial there.

In any fair and just society that prosecutor would be fired...but instead they will be rewarded with some political job I would bet.
Our system if full of corruption and I refuse to just put it off to incompetence.

[Enthusiast]

7. Yes. This is madness.

[SCVDem]

8. Thank you to Lawrence O'Donnell

And his staff!

They dug this up and L O'D kept on the story, asking the questions of the AG and DA which are Pulitzer worthy.

This is how journalism is done!

Only on MSNBC did I find out about this gross abuse of the GJ system.

How many cases were affected in the 29 year span since Garner?

We will never know.

[hopemountain]

15. and he is not going to let it go!

his truth has a tenacity to it

[Number23]

16. Do you have a link to the O'Donnell show where this was talked about?

I know there was one from last week where he talks about how the DA referred the jurors to a statute that had been ruled unconstitutional two decades ago and I've seen that one so I'm hoping that there is video of this show too.

Or if you can remember what day it was that you saw this new bit of info on O'Donnell's show I may be able to find it myself. TIA

[SCVDem]

31. No link

Just MSNBC.com and go to watch and then the last word.

[world wide wally]

9. And you wonder why people don't vote?

It is obvious that the system doesn't work.
Most people go to work every day and do a good job. Always fearing that their lives will crash down if they mess up at work.
Then some corrupt government asshole like McCullough comes along and shows total, corrupt incompetence and just skates by. Whether he is appointed or elected is not the question. In either case, he represents the government.
Do you still wonder why people don't trust government and don't think voting matters?

[Evergreen Emerald]

10. isnt the grand jury supposed to provide every possible charge?

I think there are lots of complaints about the system used, when there is little actual knowledge about how it works.

[og1]

11. The expedient thing and the right thing are seldom the same

Racism is the by product capitalism and religion in society. Religion blesses the abuses that capitalism creates. Whether it is environmental damage or racism it is blessed by fundamental religion namely the Calvinists. To understand American capitalism which is the vehicle of racism. I would suggest to all progressive DUers read "The Half Has Never Been Told" by Edward E Bapist. I also would suggest the book "An Indigenous People's History Of The United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Oritiz. These two books should be mandatory for all American history classes. As it has been said history is written by the victor!

[Rex]

12. That's okay with the cop apologists here. They say the same thing about Brown.

He assaulted Wilson so he deserved to die. I don't know which group is more disgusting.

[BrotherIvan]

14. They should be disbarred

They ALL should be disbarred. I'm sure I'll be told how legal this all is, but they should be disbarred.

[FourScore]

23. ^^^^ THIS^^^^

[sabrina 1]

19. I never doubted it.

[Rex]

26. A small group really tried to keep us distracted. They seem to be absent.

They would yell at us for daring to have a discussion about it. 'Wait for all the facts', okay you do that while most of us stand here horrified and stare.

[sabrina 1]

27. I don't think they expected the outpouring of protests that have occurred. For so long they

the police were untouchable. They hoped it would all go away, as it nearly did after Trayvon Martin. But what is happening now is what needs to happen. Social Media is where it is all happening.

Btw, are you on Twitter? If so would be happy to 'follow' you. It's an amazing tool to use for these kinds of 'uprisings'. News as it is happening and a way to reach tens of thousands of people to organize protests and boycotts etc. Way more effective than any other internet forums. Plus you are not bothered by the trolls and operatives if you don't want to be.

Edited to add, the media was taken by surprise at the immediate protests that occurred in NYC right after the last GJ decision. They are way behind the times. I smiled as I watched them 'wondering' how all these people suddenly showed up so quickly. I guess they never heard of Twitter and FB. I was following it on Twitter so was not at all surprised to see the crowds gathering in several cities that night.

[Cha]

20. K

[underpants]

21. got that laid out for you.

See it is so clear... so that is settled let's move on



first degree, on the second page is assault in the second degree and the third degree.

What?

[Faryn Balyncd]

22. Daily I have increasing difficulty believing what had overcome our nation.

Civics class didn't prepare me for a world of this nature.

[BeanMusical]

24. This is sickening.

[Omaha Steve]

25. Which color pill....

Takes you into the matrix???

"You take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes."
―Morpheus, to Neo

[loyalsister]

28. This happened in our name!

The DA is an elected position and law enforcement is funded by our tax dollars. I wonder how often a person would see such instructions in GJ materials across the country?