General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I think Wilson is a bad cop, quite possibly a racist, but I also think this was an unwinnable case. [View all]BronxBoy
(2,286 posts)and as one who thinks that Wilson just got away with murder, I definitely agree with you.
Unfortunately, one of the issues involved in this tragic case is not only whether the case was winnable but also whether there would be the perception that, finally, a case that involved the shooting of an unarmed Black man would at least be treated like any other criminal case. On that point the DA has turned out to be an utterly incompetent failure.
That's my opinion and many of the reasons I feel this way have been debated extensively on this site. What I was hoping to see was a sense that this process would not follow the path of all too many unjustified shooting cases through the years involving people of color. That was my simple hope but alas, it was dashed once again.
The victim of the case was morphed in a "thug" and dehumanized. AGAIN. A predominantly White grand jury just couldn't bring themselves to bring an indictment. AGAIN. The families of the victims were marginalized and disrespected. AGAIN. None or only token attempts were made to reach out to the community of color and really understand their feelings and try to work through some of these issues. AGAIN. Obvious attempts were made to game the system in a way that many people of color fee always happens. AGAIN. I could go on and on....
What's interesting about a lot of people who are going on about the process, the rule of law and the justice system when it comes to this case never seem to speak to the fact that a significant portion of this country has absolutely no confidence in the very system that they are talking about. The problem is not whether the DA had a winnable case or not, it is the very real perception that he wouldn't have tried even if he had.
One last thing...people who try to understand our anger at these types of cases often fail to look at the flip side. It's not only that many of us feel that the system can never seem prosecute cops in these cases but that the very same system often seems to over backwards to imprison people of color using false information, coerced confessions and other misconduct, often promulgated by the very same DAs we are asked to now view objectively. Just this week, there were several stories about Black men being released from prison for crimes they were innocent of after spending DECADES in jail. Yet the cops and DAs who created those circumstances will never be held to task. They got to spend 40 years raising their families, sleeping in the own beds at night while the Black men they unjustly convicted rotted away in the penal system.
And you are also right that this case will be probably be resolved in a civil court like all the others which only further reinforces the feeling that when these things happen, dead Black men are simply an accounting error that can be rectified by a simple adjusting of the books.