AlterNet – by Rod BastanmehrA grand jury has declined to indict the North Carolina police officer who shot and killed a 24-year-old black man seeking help for his injuries after a car crash.
Police Officer Randall Kerrick managed to avoid an indictment by the Mecklenburg County grand jury on voluntary manslaughter charges after the September 14 death of Jonathan Ferrell, a former college football player. Kerrick fired his service weapon 12 times, hitting Ferrell, who was seeking help at a nearby house, with ten of those shots.
When speaking to Raw Story, Attorney General Roy Cooper said that, “in the interest of justice, we will resubmit the case to the grand jury scheduled to meet Monday, January 27, to see an indictment for voluntary manslaughter, the most appropriate charge given the facts in the case.”
The slain 24-year-old’s family released a statement in the wake of the failure to indict expressing skepticism about justice for their son.
“While we are pleased that the Attorney General is going to resubmit the charges against Randall Kerrick to a new Grand Jury on Monday, we are skeptical given their inability to secure an indictment yesterday,” the statement read.
Kojo Nantambu, president of the Charlotte branch of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), had stronger words about the grand jury’s decision. “This is one of the most despicable decisions I have ever seen made by human beings.”
A rally is planned to portest the grand jury’s decision.
Rod Bastanmehr is a freelance writer in New York City with a passion for music, film and culture. Follow him on Twitter @rodb.
What the hell is happening to this country: shooting in colleges, malls, law enforcement killing, no murdering, 500 innocent civilians a year and walking away free?? Is there something in the water??
You mean besides fluoride, pharmaceuticals, aluminum/barium/strontium (from the chemtrails), and estrogen (of all things), just to name a few?
And that’s the short list.