Redux: Dragon Slayer? Or Justice System Pariah?
Just a tad over a year ago I published a post titled “Dragon Slayer? Or Justice System Pariah” (please take a minute to click and read). This was simply an objective offering regarding charges filed against a handful of Baltimore police officers in the Freddie Gray custodial death case, by Baltimore’s state’s attorney Marilyn Mosby. I posed a simple question: was Mosby on target (rooting out problems in policing); or has she made a mistake (political grandstanding).
It is clearly in the news again, with one of the first officer acquitted after a bench trial of all charges.
Of particular interest is the recent interview with famous attorney Alan Dershowitz; a skilled attorney and Professor of Law, Emeritus at Harvard Law School. In the interview, Dershowitz is critical of the handling of this case. Personally, his opinion has a great deal of validity; as he will easily (and generally correctly) criticize police if the criticism is warranted.
“These are officers who may have made a mistake, but they are not guilty of criminal conduct,” Dershowitz said.
Is this not-guilty verdict enough to tip the scale and show that the criminal prosecution of the officers is completely out of line? This matters in the “business of policing” because it impacts our most important capital: people. It may also fuel the case for the Ferguson Effect.
What do you think? Are there long-term impacts on policing that could develop if she is wrong? What does it spell out for Baltimore or cities like Baltimore that are under criminal siege at this very moment?
(Featured Image Photo Credit: http://www.stattorney.org/office/meet-marilyn-mosby)
© 2016 DAVID A. LYONS
James Barth
I haven’t always agreed with Alan Dershowitz’s views, but in this instance I totally agree with him that these Baltimore Officers may be guilty of making a mistake, but they’re certainly not guilty of any criminal conduct !! Marilyn Mosby is a disgrace to our legal system. I’m hoping and praying that these Baltimore Officers will all be vindicated in this witch hunt that Mosby has created, and when they are I’m afraid that they’ll be trouble in the streets once more. Long term, I’m hoping that the American public will finally realize that Police Officers are human and aren’t perfect. We make mistakes, but not intentionally. We all live by the creed to serve and protect and don’t want to hurt anyone, unless our lives or the public’s lives are in danger.
The Baltimore officers may or may not have made a mistake, but they displayed no conduct or intent to injure Freddie. This woman is out to make a political statement at the expense of our people in blue. She will probably run for higher office and win with the black vote.
Why is everybody ignoring the fact that Freddie Gray had just been recently released from the hospital and was not even supposed to be out on the street? How much did his own negligence play in the injury caused by his arrest? It’s time to realize there are no black and white races. We are all part of the human. race
Ron Seidman (Sr)
Political Grandstanding that has ruined the lives of dedicated Police Officers!! She should be held responsible for her stupid actions, and I hope someone takes civil action to have her removed from office, and for her to pay for her actions.
John M Fleming
This prosecutor is the poster child for what a District Attorney should not be. You are the advocate for the “people”. Your office is an arm of the criminal justice system. You are not a community activist. She has failed miserably so far. Another example, not as extreme, was the case against a rookie police officer in NYC who was tried for shooting an innocent man in Brooklyn. The trial showed institutional failures on the part of the NYPD over training and assigning young, untrained officers to the most dangerous housing project in the City, and the Housing department which never fixed lighting conditions in the stairwell where the shooting occurred . In the end the Brooklyn DA did the right thing and advocated for no jail time. When a DA lets their office be used to “right past wrongs” and not administer justice than its time for that community to find a new DA.
Tom Dean
Somrnohy. Shoot a perp or what ?
Charles Craft
This city state’s attorney had the audacity to say she was from a law enforcement family. Actually, she was from a family of corrupt cops. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree.
Robert DiPasquale
[t]he basis of the prosecution of those Police Officers was political. The political leadership of Baltimore pandered to the mob of protestors(rioters) and were using those officers as scapegoats for their lack of leadership and competency