San Francisco, CA — After reviewing the transcripts and evidence released Tuesday, San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi released the following statement today on the grand jury’s decision against indicting police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown. “As San Francisco Public Defender, I am deeply disappointed with the grand jury’s failure to indict Darren Wilson for the fatal shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown. A series of questionable, and in my opinion, biased legal and ethical decisions in the investigation and prosecution of the case presented to the grand jury led to this unjust result, most notably allowing a local prosecutor with strong family connections to police Read more [...]

Mistakes are not mistakes when they serve an intended purpose.   On September 16, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Kathy Alizadeh handed the grand jury a copy of Missouri statute 563.046- the state’s use of force doctrine. This 1979 doctorine was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court based entirely on the portion of the statute that was helpful to Officer Darren Wilson, the part that states police officers are permitted to shoot any suspect that’s simply fleeing. In 1985, the Supreme Court ruled on the case of Tennessee v. Garner, a 15 year old boy who was shot in the back of the head by a police officer as he attempted to flee after a robbery.  The ruling meant that cops could Read more [...]

Hundreds of active duty US military and veterans have sent an open letter to Missouri National Guard members urging them to join Ferguson protesters, not fight against them. The letter, signed by many veterans including dozens who fought in the Iraq war, was published on MarchForward.org and can be viewed below: Text To our brothers and sisters in the Missouri National Guard: We are writing to you as active-duty U.S. service members and veterans, most of us having served in the Iraq war. You have a choice you can make right now. The whole world is watching the Ferguson police with disgust. They killed an unarmed, college-bound Black youth in broad daylight, and subsequently responded Read more [...]