Murder or Manslaughter, at least there was an indictment
It is a list of names that is growing in number and in the frequency of additions.
Amadou Diallo
Kendra James
Ronald Madison
Sean Bell
Manuel Loggins, Jr.
Ramarley Graham
Rekia Boyd
Jamar Clark
Yvette Smith
Tamir Rice
Laquan McDonald
Akai Gurley
Ezell Ford
Michael Brown, Jr.
Christian Taylor
Walter Scott
Brendon Glenn
Samuel DeBose
Gregory Gunn
Alton Sterling
Philando Castile
Terence Crutcher
This is an incomplete listing of black men and women who were not armed at the time they were shot and killed by police officers. The officer who shot the latest victim, Betty Shelby has been charged with manslaughter in the death of Mr. Crutcher. Reading the comments sections of various threads regarding the arrest and charging of Officer Shelby is very interesting. I see several common themes.
The charge should have been 2nd degree murder.
She will never be convicted.
Finally, we're seeing an officer charged in the death of a unarmed black person.
Let's examine them one at a time.
Oklahoma law defines 2nd degree murder as:
Homicide is murder in the second degree in the following cases:
1. When perpetrated by an act imminently dangerous to another person and evincing a depraved mind, regardless of human life, although without any premeditated design to effect the death of any particular individual; or
2. When perpetrated by a person engaged in the commission of any felony other than the unlawful acts set out in Section 1, subsection B, of this act.
Could Officer Shelby's actions be construed as "...evincing a depraved mind...?" Perhaps but it would be a bigger stretch than convicting her under the criminal act she is charged with. I'm not saying definitively that a charge of 2nd degree murder might not be more appropriate; but I think such a charge is much more likely to result in yet another instance where a cop is acquitted for shooting an unarmed person.
That she will never be convicted is an easy belief to understand. The four officers charged with 2nd degree murder in the case of Amadou Diallo were all acquitted. The DA declined to charge the officer who shot Kendra James in the head. This past April, 11 years after the shooting death of Ronald Madison, five New Orleans cops pleaded guilty to reduced charges. They'd been convicted in 2011 but their convictions were set aside due to prosecutorial misconduct. In the shooting deaths of Sean Bell, Manuel Loggins, Jr., Ramarley Graham, Rekia Boyd, Jamar Clark, Yvette Smith, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown and others, there was either an acquittal or no charges were brought.
I think the fact that Officer Shelby has been charged is a step in the right direction. Ray Tensing, the officer who killed Samuel DuBose has a murder trial starting next month in Cincinnati. A grand jury will consider murder charges against Officer Aaron Smith in the shooting of Gregory Gunn. Former officer Michael Slager was indicted by a grand jury for murder and also faces federal civil rights violations and obstruction of justice charges in the shooting of Walter Scott.
This does NOT mean the tide has turned. Local prosecutors will never be completely free from a potential conflict of interest whenever they are investigating/prosecuting local law enforcement personnel. That's because of the fact the prosecutors are dependent upon the cooperation of the cops in their efforts to convict anyone they bring to trial in criminal cases. My belief that the only way to make real progress in handling the shooting of civilians by cops is to have outside agencies investigate and prosecute these matters remains unchanged.
We will never know the true origin of the maxim "justice delayed is justice denied." William Penn said "to delay justice is injustice." The Magna Carta includes Clause 40 which reads "To no one will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay, right or justice." The late Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote "justice too long delayed is justice denied"justice too long delayed is justice denied" in his letter from the Birmingham Jail in 1963.
It would be much better for all if we could get instant justice in these cases. In the shooting of Terence Crutcher, we should wait and see what happens with the case that has been brought before we judge whether or not the charge is appropriate, and/or a mistake.
Amadou Diallo
Kendra James
Ronald Madison
Sean Bell
Manuel Loggins, Jr.
Ramarley Graham
Rekia Boyd
Jamar Clark
Yvette Smith
Tamir Rice
Laquan McDonald
Akai Gurley
Ezell Ford
Michael Brown, Jr.
Christian Taylor
Walter Scott
Brendon Glenn
Samuel DeBose
Gregory Gunn
Alton Sterling
Philando Castile
Terence Crutcher
This is an incomplete listing of black men and women who were not armed at the time they were shot and killed by police officers. The officer who shot the latest victim, Betty Shelby has been charged with manslaughter in the death of Mr. Crutcher. Reading the comments sections of various threads regarding the arrest and charging of Officer Shelby is very interesting. I see several common themes.
The charge should have been 2nd degree murder.
She will never be convicted.
Finally, we're seeing an officer charged in the death of a unarmed black person.
Let's examine them one at a time.
Oklahoma law defines 2nd degree murder as:
Homicide is murder in the second degree in the following cases:
1. When perpetrated by an act imminently dangerous to another person and evincing a depraved mind, regardless of human life, although without any premeditated design to effect the death of any particular individual; or
2. When perpetrated by a person engaged in the commission of any felony other than the unlawful acts set out in Section 1, subsection B, of this act.
Could Officer Shelby's actions be construed as "...evincing a depraved mind...?" Perhaps but it would be a bigger stretch than convicting her under the criminal act she is charged with. I'm not saying definitively that a charge of 2nd degree murder might not be more appropriate; but I think such a charge is much more likely to result in yet another instance where a cop is acquitted for shooting an unarmed person.
That she will never be convicted is an easy belief to understand. The four officers charged with 2nd degree murder in the case of Amadou Diallo were all acquitted. The DA declined to charge the officer who shot Kendra James in the head. This past April, 11 years after the shooting death of Ronald Madison, five New Orleans cops pleaded guilty to reduced charges. They'd been convicted in 2011 but their convictions were set aside due to prosecutorial misconduct. In the shooting deaths of Sean Bell, Manuel Loggins, Jr., Ramarley Graham, Rekia Boyd, Jamar Clark, Yvette Smith, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown and others, there was either an acquittal or no charges were brought.
I think the fact that Officer Shelby has been charged is a step in the right direction. Ray Tensing, the officer who killed Samuel DuBose has a murder trial starting next month in Cincinnati. A grand jury will consider murder charges against Officer Aaron Smith in the shooting of Gregory Gunn. Former officer Michael Slager was indicted by a grand jury for murder and also faces federal civil rights violations and obstruction of justice charges in the shooting of Walter Scott.
This does NOT mean the tide has turned. Local prosecutors will never be completely free from a potential conflict of interest whenever they are investigating/prosecuting local law enforcement personnel. That's because of the fact the prosecutors are dependent upon the cooperation of the cops in their efforts to convict anyone they bring to trial in criminal cases. My belief that the only way to make real progress in handling the shooting of civilians by cops is to have outside agencies investigate and prosecute these matters remains unchanged.
We will never know the true origin of the maxim "justice delayed is justice denied." William Penn said "to delay justice is injustice." The Magna Carta includes Clause 40 which reads "To no one will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay, right or justice." The late Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote "justice too long delayed is justice denied"justice too long delayed is justice denied" in his letter from the Birmingham Jail in 1963.
It would be much better for all if we could get instant justice in these cases. In the shooting of Terence Crutcher, we should wait and see what happens with the case that has been brought before we judge whether or not the charge is appropriate, and/or a mistake.
posted by me at 2:26 PM
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