A grand jury in Missouri has sparked an outcry as they have decided not to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of 18 year old Michael Brown earlier in August.
Wilson has apparently already been in talks to resign from the police force, regardless of the jury’s decision, but protesters feel that justice has not been served.
The numerous witnesses who said they saw Michael Brown shot with his hands in the air seemed to not have mattered. Those who saw the last moments of Brown’s life seemed to inherently know that they had just witnessed a murder. However, the grand jury obviously felt that Wilson’s actions were justified.
Yes, a scuffle at the car may have led Wilson to one or two shots, but no one has yet to be able to explain the continued firing from Wilson’s gun. Earlier reports of Brown being killed about 30 feet from Wilson’s car have been shown to be false. The distance was over 130 feet away according to Daily Kos writer Shaun King.
Activists in Ferguson are indescribably outraged. One thing is clear though. The fight will continue. So many organizations and movements have been started to curb the type of police violence and prejudicial vigilantism that has taken our precious brothers and sisters. The killings of Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, Renisha McBride, Eric Garner, John Crawford, Ezell Ford, Kajieme Powell, VonDerrit Myers, Akai Gurley, etc, have caught our attention. While Davis and McBride’s killers were convicted of murder and will be in jail for many years to come, so many of our citizens will not get the same justice. Black people feel like an endangered species. When you talk to minorities and allies, they know that living while black is still considered very dangerous in many circumstances.
This outcome is saddening and seems very unfair, but Michael Brown’s parents can know that we will not give up. His death was not in vain. While no one is perfect, we as a culture must take killing more seriously. Killing a flawed individual doesn’t make it okay because we are all flawed. I hope to see changes in self-defense laws. I have always said that I think the famous “burden of proof” should shift in self-defense cases. Meaning, if you take someone’s life, the defendant should have to prove that it was justified. The prosecution shouldn’t carry this burden. Why? Taking a life is serious. It is permanent. You should have a very very very good reason to why you did this. It appears that people are abusing the laws because they know they can get away with it especially if the deceased is an African-American. The prejudices and negative stigmas attached to those with darker skin have been a constant in American culture for centuries, and studies have shown that has not gone away.
I pray for peace but I know my fellow justice-seekers will not let up. The movement lives and the fight goes on.
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