Wrongful Conviction/ Injustice Community Group
For people and families who have tasted or advocate against the horrors of injustice
This was posted at another forum. I am posting it here in hopes we can get a discussion started.
Who killed Michael Brown?
Ultimately the American people are responsible. That may sound odd, but it is the people of this country who were so fearful that they allowed law enforcement be given so much power over its citizens.
The American people, in effect, created a Frankenstein-like monster in law enforcement who has become uncontrollable.
Michael Brown was wrong if he attacked the officer, the officer was wrong and displayed poor judgment, but the political climate in this country toward crime is the real reason Michael Brown is now dead, just as it is the reason we have so many false convictions, and the same reason we have 5% of the world's population but 25% of the world's prison population.
grew up during the mismanaged debacle called the War on Drugs. During this time, the American people were so frightened by the media about the "depraved dope fiends" and the drug problem that slowly but surely they ceded many of their civil liberties and Constitutional rights to law enforcement. The SWAT teams were introduced and the raids on houses at dawn when the police knock over innocent women, shoot the family pet, and generally act like a bunch of disorganized hooligans was born.
We never corrected this situation. In fact, it just became worse over the years as our minds were inundated with propaganda and stories by the now 24/7 media and the cable networks. Yes, there was a drug problem and there always will be a drug problem as long as human beings are able to have the addictive personalities to abuse drugs. But the War on Drugs was not the answer.
As things progressed---or rather regressed---in the United States, the citizens began to become accustomed to the fact of police brutality much like the frog in boiling water who, when he learns that the water is too hot, it is too late to escape.
We began to accept police misconduct. And it became a cancer.
Then came 9/11---and The Patriot Act----then the illegal wiretaps---then the spying on the American citizens---then illegal detention---then the torturing....
I could go on and on.
Finally the citizens of this country became so fearful of the new terror threat that we gave even more power to the police departments and people in federal law enforcement. They now became militarized with weapons that formerly were only used in wartime.
The police became an occupying force rather than one to protect the community.
In turn, the police began to see each and every citizen as the enemy. And here we are.
Until this last incident with Mr.Brown and the chokehold murder in New York, the people of this once great nation were willing to put up with the baby in the crib who was burned by a grenade during a home raid by federal agents or all the young black men murdered by law enforcement.
The death of Mr. Brown and many other incidents of police misconduct lie squarely on the shoulders of the American people. Instead of attacking the problem with courage and common sense, they allowed fear to overtake them and demanded even more government protection.
We became the Nanny State.
There is enough blame to go around for everyone in these sad cases, but the citizens of this country have to accept a big part of the responsibility.
Michael Brown was killed in part by the cowardice of the American people.
rewdiazepam
Who killed Michael Brown?
Ultimately the American people are responsible. That may sound odd, but it is the people of this country who were so fearful that they allowed law enforcement be given so much power over its citizens.
The American people, in effect, created a Frankenstein-like monster in law enforcement who has become uncontrollable.
Michael Brown was wrong if he attacked the officer, the officer was wrong and displayed poor judgment, but the political climate in this country toward crime is the real reason Michael Brown is now dead, just as it is the reason we have so many false convictions, and the same reason we have 5% of the world's population but 25% of the world's prison population.
grew up during the mismanaged debacle called the War on Drugs. During this time, the American people were so frightened by the media about the "depraved dope fiends" and the drug problem that slowly but surely they ceded many of their civil liberties and Constitutional rights to law enforcement. The SWAT teams were introduced and the raids on houses at dawn when the police knock over innocent women, shoot the family pet, and generally act like a bunch of disorganized hooligans was born.
We never corrected this situation. In fact, it just became worse over the years as our minds were inundated with propaganda and stories by the now 24/7 media and the cable networks. Yes, there was a drug problem and there always will be a drug problem as long as human beings are able to have the addictive personalities to abuse drugs. But the War on Drugs was not the answer.
As things progressed---or rather regressed---in the United States, the citizens began to become accustomed to the fact of police brutality much like the frog in boiling water who, when he learns that the water is too hot, it is too late to escape.
We began to accept police misconduct. And it became a cancer.
Then came 9/11---and The Patriot Act----then the illegal wiretaps---then the spying on the American citizens---then illegal detention---then the torturing....
I could go on and on.
Finally the citizens of this country became so fearful of the new terror threat that we gave even more power to the police departments and people in federal law enforcement. They now became militarized with weapons that formerly were only used in wartime.
The police became an occupying force rather than one to protect the community.
In turn, the police began to see each and every citizen as the enemy. And here we are.
Until this last incident with Mr.Brown and the chokehold murder in New York, the people of this once great nation were willing to put up with the baby in the crib who was burned by a grenade during a home raid by federal agents or all the young black men murdered by law enforcement.
The death of Mr. Brown and many other incidents of police misconduct lie squarely on the shoulders of the American people. Instead of attacking the problem with courage and common sense, they allowed fear to overtake them and demanded even more government protection.
We became the Nanny State.
There is enough blame to go around for everyone in these sad cases, but the citizens of this country have to accept a big part of the responsibility.
Michael Brown was killed in part by the cowardice of the American people.
rewdiazepam
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https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTDeA9Wxg/
The situation with Michael Brown is difficult in all directions, no matter what your perception is of the way it "may", "could", or other choice word, happen.
I respect the view of the post above because it does happen, far more frequently than anyone realizes.
However, I live in a community with a large of certified law enforcement officers who respect the citizens, and am fortunate in this, as I see them out of uniform and participating as citizens, they have feelings, too.
A lot of management policy is involved in the way police are instructed to handle situations, and sometimes, the guide is just plain wrong, as the words, choices, possible outcomes just do not fit into a specific category.
There is no simple solution, our world has changed significantly in the past few decades, and behavior that was acceptable to be corrected on the spot previously can now turn into a criminal trial for the person who corrects the behavior.
These are the type of officers that should be being hired
I think it's important that all sides of something like this event receive a psychological 'autopsy' as much as possible heading to the future
I grew up when there was a lot of unrest and it wasn't that long ago... I've done a lot of my own research about the plight of African Americans' via books and films as the man I believe is innocent and convicted wrongly is African American... He believes race played a big part so when I first started to get proactive about his case I started to do some research as I knew little and didn't want to be hoodwinked
What I found was horrific... It's gotten a lot better however there is still a lot of hate in the world
I have a friend who's daughter is part of a mixed race couple and she said that they NEVER go into a convenience store together due to the nasty remarks they receive
I don't really understand why the haters like to be incognito if they're so proud of it
At the same time I don't like officer's or people in general to be used to make a point by activists... I think this case wasn't as clear cut as some... I'm sorry Michael Brown is dead
Some laws (I think) need to be changed for this not to happen again....x
My big concern is the overall power we have given the police with absolutely no accountability.
I was in the medical profession. I can guarantee you that if I had made a mistake causing the death of someone, I would be punished in some manner.
Doctors are punished---civilly but possibly criminally---when they botch a surgery. So why are people in law enforcement somehow never held accountable?
How are they no different that we are?
rewdiazepam
PS And don't get me started on the DAs who hide evidence that cause an innocent man to be convicted. They are almost never punished for something that was not just an act of negligence, but an overt act meant to further their cause with a conviction.
Sad but true... Even if someone wins a civil suit against a wrongful conviction they'll never say that this person was innocent.
You are right we do give them a hell of a lot of power... I was listening to a panel of lawyers talking about this case and a defence lawyer saying no one is indicted by the grand jury if the prosecution doesn't want them to be... They set up witnesses according to what they want the outcome to be... This lawyer used to be a prosecutor....x
Ppl are talking little about why the County Prosecutor did not recuse himself. Seeing's how his father had been a policemen killed in the line of duty.
Ppl focus on fine points of how the trigger was pulled; *too much* so. And have little time left to consider the biased and brutal context/environment. . . I wonder if Congress or SuoremeCourt could make changes concerning what "unnecessary force" is.
cheers
As more information comes out about the situation, it becomes obvious that there is a lot of political maneuvering going on, and information that is not shared appropriately with the jury selected to review the legal evidence, could reflect on the case in general.
I explained to someone when I removed their offensive post on another board (not DS) that it was not that they said it, it was that they were offensive, crude, and lacking of evidence with their statement and on that particular board, any post submitted must have evidence to support it, or it is removed. (I've had some of my remarks removed for same reason, and ended up apologizing to the group in general when my research failed to give me the information I thought it did).
This group has given hope that different perspectives can gain a positive solution with team effort.
My take on the shooting is that it was valid for all the wrong reasons, prosecutable for all the wrong reasons, and in the end, no one came out of it a better informed person, not one single person involved.
All the wrong reasons are what is keeping the potential of this situation to be used for the better of mankind in general, and for that purpose, I keep in mind the young children who face this atmosphere every single day they go to school, to the store, to the park, to places where kindness can face down, up, inside, around and turn a negative into a problem solved.
In the end, a young person lost their life because of choices made surrounding the situation prior to the incident. Whether it was wrong, right, legal, ethical, does not matter, because it happened, and the cost to all of us is a loss of freedom where we least afford lack of trust.
I know that I'm not making much sense, and if anyone takes offense, I apologize for stepping out of bounds on this.