Tonight’s question, greetings, and banter here. (More)
Today Baltimore chief prosecutor Marilyn Mosby filed charges including second-degree murder, manslaughter, assault, and misconduct against six officers involved in the death of Freddie Gray. She also exonerated Gray and called his arrest illegal. While Mosby has deep family police ties, many right-wingers are demanding a special prosecutor. Also, Donta Allen denied the story that said Gray injured himself and reports emerged of other black men who suffered spinal injuries in Baltimore P.D. vans. Did the violent response help spur today’s charges?
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Today on Campus
Morning Feature – The Baltimore Uprising and Theories of Change
Midday Matinee – triciawyse with Friedai Critters
A link I couldn’t fit into today’s question: several media organizations have demanded that Baltimore officials turn over all documents related to this investigation. Neither the police department nor prosecutors have yet replied to the letter, but as the Poynter Institute link notes … the police will leak any information they think will help their case — as they did with the since-disproved story in the Post — so why not just release all of the documents and have a transparent process?
Yes, that could create some awkward moments for the prosecutor. In any case, prosecutors have information they can’t present to a jury, for legal or strategic reasons. But they can explain why they didn’t use that information.
And it’s better than letting police leak their side while keeping the rest hidden.
As for whether the violence helped spur the charges, I encourage you to read the articles cited at BaltimoreUprising.org, especially this one “In Defense of Looting.” We have a long and ugly history about Black Lives and White Property and whites need to consider that context.
If some broken windows, burned cars, and looted stores are the price tag for coming to grips with pervasive racial injustice and police violence — policies and actions that take Black Lives — maybe that price in White Property isn’t so extreme.
A good part of me hopes the violent response wasn’t the reason for the charges, but the cynical side of me says it likely had more than a little to do with it.
I am willing to give Marilyn Mosby the benefit of the doubt. Nationally I think the violence got more people into the conversation about systemic and systematic racism. I was personally really fine with the burning of the cop’s rough rider van. I hope no evidence was destroyed by the burning but otherwise, fine symbol to set on fire in my book.