Her ethical and legal lapses are many: She conducted a hurried “independent investigation”, disregarding police findings; she delayed disclosure of key exculpatory evidence to the defense; she promoted a fantasy claim that Gray’s arrest was unlawful; she attempted to incite and prejudice the jury pool in order in order to gain convictions; she repeatedly used inflammatory rhetoric in public statements.
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Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby filed charges against the officers after the medical examiner’s report ruled Gray’s death a homicide.
USA prosecutors yesterday dropped all remaining charges against police in the death of Freddie Gray, an African American whose fatal injury in custody provoked riots in Baltimore, ending the high-profile case without any convictions.
MONTAGNE: And that’s NPR’s Jennifer Ludden on news that all charges have been dropped against the three officers left to go on trial in the death of Freddie Gray.
Davis says those same detectives investigated and criminally charged a Baltimore police officer who is presently on trial for attempted murder.
More than a year ago, Mosby stood on her city’s courthouse steps and announced charges against the officers. We are very proud of the prosecutors who handled the case and did their best to their ability. “There was a reluctance and bias that was consistently exemplified”.
Gray died a week after he suffered a spinal injury in the back of the detainee wagon while he was handcuffed and shackled, but not buckled in with a seat belt.
“We do not believe Freddie Gray killed himself”, she said. Williams was expected to hear other trials as well. But instead of pretrial motions, Chief Deputy State’s Attorney Michael Schatzow told the judge that prosecutors were dropping the charges against Miller and the rest of the officers.
“The court’s imaginings do not serve as a substitute for evidence”, Williams said in his most recent verdict.
A retrial against Porter had been scheduled after a jury deadlocked in the case against him in December.
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake – who decided not to seek reelection in the aftermath of last spring’s unrest – asked residents to be patient as they absorbed the news.
The proceedings revealed deep fissures among the police, prosecutors and the people of Baltimore.
An attorney for two of the officers said Wednesday that there were ulterior motives in charging the officers.
Callan said he thinks the plaintiffs will argue that Mosby, an elected official, did become an investigator because of her belief that police were not properly pursuing the case and her desire to appease her political constituency. Six officers, three white and three black, were charged in Gray’s death. Could she prove the case? “The process of these trials has helped rather than hurt the cause of repairing the rift between the police and the community”, the newspaper wrote in an unsigned editorial. “It’s an arduous task that requires dedication”.
During his arrest, officers placed Gray in the back of a police van, which made several stops. That wouldn’t happen if these cases hadn’t been prosecuted. We can not allow the ongoing targeting and murdering of black people in the hands of police to continue.
“The state’s attorney simply could not accept the evidence that was presented”.
JENNIFER LUDDEN, BYLINE: Yes, Renee, the fifth hearing in this long case, and, you know, people have been calling on Marilyn Mosby to drop these charges for a while.
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Gray’s stepfather, Richard Shipley, stood next to Mosby as she delivered her remarks. Was it right for Trump to politicize the case?
