Gray is one of several high profile examples of black men who have died in the hands of law enforcement, but his case is the first to go to trial.
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Murphy said the hung jury is a disappointment for both the prosecution and the defense. They declined to comment, citing the judge’s gag order in the case.
“We are not at all upset with them and neither should the public be upset”, Richard Shipley said.
Experts agreed that this was a loss for the prosecution and that they face an uphill battle in the upcoming trials of the five remaining officers as well as the potential retrial of Porter’s case. “If we are calm, you should be calm too”.
Congressman Elijah Cummings is confident the officer will face another jury. But at a time when the nation in general – and Baltimore in particular – has been struggling with how the justice system should treat police accused of serious crimes, even the mistrial was a positive moment for the justice system and police accountability, some say.
There are many reasons why a mistrial can occur during court proceedings. The latter is of particular concern because more than a few legal analysts seem to feel that blowing the Porter prosecution may have endangered their chances of bringing in any of the remaining police officers guilty. But the mistrial could complicate that strategy, and depending on how the other trials are scheduled, he may not be available to testify. “I think people learned from last time”. Options for the state could include granting Porter immunity in exchange for his testimony, trying to persuade the judge to postpone the other trials while retrying Porter or striking him from their witness list altogether.
Attorney Billy Murphy, who obtained a $6.4 million settlement for Gray’s family from the city before Porter’s trial, called the mistrial “a temporary bump on the road to justice”.
“If they don’t have Porter that has to way heavily into consideration”. Whether we agree or not, we must respect the judicial process and the jury’s decision as they considered the testimony and evidence before them. “We will protect our neighborhoods, our businesses and the people of our city”.
Lawyers in the case have been told by Williams not to talk to reporters about the case. The prosecutors have said they plan on retrying Officer William G. Porter, and given that there are five more officers to be tried after Porter, this saga is far from over.
Meanwhile, the city of Baltimore, still on edge after riots broke out in April on the day of Gray’s funeral, braces for the verdict.
She says people are expressing support for peace.
“I think that’s the judgement of the public to make as a result of how these cases bear out”, she said.
With a verdict possible this week, the city of Baltimore said it activated its emergency operations center Monday “out of an abundance of caution”. Officers will be scheduled to work 12-hour shifts instead of the usual 10 hours.
In that trial prosecutors are depending on Officer Porter to testify that he told Goodson that Freddie Gray needed medical help.
Prosecutors said he should have called a medic for Gray sooner than one was eventually called and also should have ensured that Gray was wearing a seat belt.
But they could not reach a decision. “But the department, in the long run, is going to take it hard”. Is two, three, maybe four seconds worth a life?
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“Freddie Gray went into the van healthy and he came out of the van dead”, said prosecutor Janice Bledsoe in her closing argument, according to The Associated Press.
