The black community’s sense of justice for Michael Brown requires that Officer Darren Wilson be prosecuted for murder, but what about justice for Wilson?
Al Sharpton’s oft-repeated slogan ‘No Justice, No Peace’ means that the unrest in Ferguson will continue until Officer Darren Wilson is indicted for the murder of Michael Brown. And if Wilson is tried and acquitted, we could see a repeat of the Watts Riots in Ferguson.
Let’s look at justice for Michael Brown. This morning I watched Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon on CBS Face the Nation and on ABC This Week. Here is what Nixon said about the release of the video showing Brown robbing a convenience store:
It appeared to besmirch a young man who was shot down on the streets.
To me, that statement sounds rather ominous for Darren Wilson. “Shot down on the streets” sure sounds like the governor has made up his mind that the shooting of Brown was not justified. If not that, then he is saying it to placate the blacks who are demanding that Wilson be prosecuted for murder, with many calling for him to receive the death penalty.
At this time I cannot tell whether the shooting of Brown was justified or not. The police version is that Michael Brown, at 6’4”, 292 lbs., struggled with Officer Wilson before he was shot. The version accepted by the black community is that Brown was shot multiple times as he was holding his hands up to show he was unarmed. The truth probably lies somewhere between the two versions.
The black community is unwilling to wait for a lengthy and thorough investigation. They insist on an immediate release of the investigation and, of course, that must include an official statement that Wilson shot down Brown without justification, followed by his immediate indictment for murder.
On Sunday, Attorney General Eric Holder ordered a second autopsy to be conducted on the body of Brown by a federal medical examiner because of the “extraordinary circumstances involved in this case.” That looks awfully suspicious to me. Brown’s mother does not trust the St. Louis coroner and has called for an autopsy by an independent pathologist. It seems as though Holder is pounding another nail in Wilson’s coffin. That, or Holder doubts the competency or - along with Brown's mother - the integrity of the coroner for the County of St. Louis.
There are now 40 FBI agents going door to door trying to locate witnesses in order to find out what they saw. Come on now, how can any reasonable person believe those agents are going to get a correct and truthful version of what happened. You can bet that they will be told by many ‘witnesses’ that they saw a young man shot down in cold blood as he had his hands raised in surrender. And half, if not most of those witnesses were not even there when the shooting happened. My question is, will the FBI agents work as hard to discredit witness statements as they will to accept them? I seriously doubt it!
OK, so now we know that to blacks, justice for Michael Brown means that Officer Wilson will be indicted, tried and convicted of murder.
But what about justice for Darren Wilson?
Let’s start with the release of the video showing the strong-arm robbery by Brown. Sharpton, the NAACP and others had been howling for authorities to release the name of the cop who shot Brown. When the Ferguson police chief finally caved in to their demands, he also released the video of the convenience store robbery.
How did the black community react to the release of the video? With utter outrage! They saw it as a character assassination of Brown on top of his assassination by Wilson. That led to more rioting. The Justice Department was furious, Capt. Ron Johnson was upset and Gov. Nixon called it the besmirching of a young man shot down in the streets. The Justice Department, Capt. Johnson and Gov. Nixon all said the video should not have been released.
I think the Ferguson PD was right in releasing the video at the same time they named Wilson as Brown’s killer. OK, so that was bound to inflame the hotheads in the black community. But Wilson should have been given the right to show that he did not shoot the angelic figure painted by Brown’s mother and by his friends, as well as by Al Sharpton and others who did not personally know the young man. The video’s release was appropriate since there had been a number of death threats made against the as yet unidentified officer.
So, if he was indeed justified in shooting Brown, will there be justice for Darren Wilson? I cannot see how!
First there will be a ‘hurried up’ investigation based largely on the stories of unreliable witnesses. Because the black community will accept nothing less than a murder indictment of Wilson, that will be forthcoming quickly. As for the trial, knowing that the black community is out for blood and that riots may break out all over the U.S. if they acquit Wilson, the jury is not going to return with a ‘Not Guilty’ verdict.
On the other hand, if Wilson was truly not justified in shooting Brown, then he should be indicted and tried for murder.
EDITOR’S NOTE: I posted the above piece on PACOVILLA Corrections blog where Kathy Nichols responded with this excellent comment:
The same thoughts have been bothering me since the renewal of the violence on Friday night after release of the video.
The Ferguson Chief of Police was immediately criticized by the press for refusing to comment on or explain any of the information he released. What he did explain, repeatedly, was that he hadn't wanted to release any of it, but had been directed to do so by the city attorney.
I was further disturbed as television pundits, and later our governor, suggested that release of the video was a tactic calculated to damage the "gentle giant's" reputation.
The events depicted in the convenience store occurred within 10 to 15 minutes of the confrontation between Darren Wilson and Michael Brown. Clearly, the video reflects Brown's mental state near the time of the incident, and it certainly provides a reason for Brown to resist arrest in his encounter with the officer.
In any event, out of curiosity, I "Googled" the phrase "justice for Darren Wilson" a few minutes ago, and your blog post was the only relevant result. That is tragic and frightening.
The protesters in Ferguson aren't seeking justice right now; they're behaving like a lynch mob. Justice is supposed to be blind, thoughtful, and evenhanded. I see no possibility that Wilson can receive a fair trial, and at this point, in any court in our nation.
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